However, the story moved into the realm of the unbelievable yesterday when Mr Cunningham and Meg were reunited, five weeks after his beloved dog disappeared following a car crash.
Meg (6) has a dislocated or broken right leg, a dislocated or broken toe in her left leg, and is badly dehydrated but has somehow survived weeks in the outdoors.
''She taught me how to walk again; now I'll have to teach her how to walk again,'' Mr Cunningham said.
''It's just incredible - we never believed we would see her again.''
Meg was found around lunchtime yesterday by farmer Raewyn Waller in a remote gully of her Purakaunui property, about 800m from the spot where the car in which Meg was travelling rolled and crashed on January 31.
The Cunninghams were on holiday at the time and a friend was taking Meg to the beach for a walk when the crash occurred.
Volunteers turned out in force to look for Meg, but after five weeks her owners feared the worst.
``It just goes to show you should never give up hope,'' Mr Cunningham said.
``We were sitting down to lunch when we got a call from Raewyn saying we think we've got your dog in the field below our farm.''
The Cunninghams dashed down to the Waller farm and then took a four-wheel-drive trip out to the rugged spot where Meg had been seen.
``We got to a gully and Raewyn said this was roughly where she was, and I looked out and 50m away was my dog,'' Mr Cunningham said.
``I called her and she got up and wagged her tail.''
After a difficult recovery operation, Meg was taken to the Wildlife Hospital - which Mr Cunningham is co-chairman of - for a check-up.
She was found to be badly injured, severely dehydrated and painfully thin.
A Christchurch specialist is assessing scans of Meg's legs to determine if they can be saved.
``She's very perky and we're feeling pretty optimistic,'' Mr Cunningham said.
``We have no idea what she's been through, but it must have been fairly horrible ... but she's back, and we've just been crying our eyes out.''
The person who first saw Meg is eligible for a $2000 reward posted by Mr Cunningham. They had declined the reward, and if they turned it down again the money would be donated to the Wildlife Hospital, Mr Cunningham said.
However, that won't be the only charity which will benefit from Meg being found.
''Alison (Mr Cunningham's wife) said she was going to get her head shaved for leukemia, Shave For A Cure, if Meg came back,'' Mr Cunningham said.
