Delight for Galway family as stolen dog makes her escape

When Valentine Fleury – a Belgian student visiting Galway – met a friendly little dog while out for a walk near Athenry on Sunday last, she had no idea of the murky underworld of dog-stealing that she had stumbled upon.

She took the little dog to her host's house and a few clues pointed to the fact that the dog had been stolen and had escaped from its captors.

She didn't wear a collar and her coat was dirty but she had been recently groomed and she was very well-fed. It was the thin blue cord, tied tightly around her neck and a frayed piece of elastic that showed that she had been roughly tied to something - but had escaped!

Valentine was horrified when she saw how tight the string had been tied around the little dog's neck.

"I find it difficult to comprehend how anyone would do something like this to an animal. She could have choked to death".

Meanwhile, on Thursday evening last, when Niamh Gardiner from Ardrahan, realised that her five-year-old West Highland terrier Holly had gone missing, she was distraught.

We were devastated when we realised she was gone. She is a big part of the family and we were heartbroken to think we might never see her again," said Niamh.

Valentine contacted Marina Fiddler at Madra.ie and Emma O'Brien at Galway SPCA and both advised her to take the dog to a vet and have her scanned for a micro-chip.

Most pet-owners do not have their pets chipped and this was seen as a remote hope. However, when she introduced the dog to Linda Waters and practice nurse Caroline Gorton at Athenry Pet Clinic on Monday morning, the longed-for 'bleep-bleep' came from the scanner!

The registration number was typed into the data-base at Fido.ie and Holly's name, owner's name and address and phone number were duly noted.

A quick phone-call and the Gardiner family learned the good news.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.