STOLEN DOG TURNS UP... 400KM AWAY ON DUBLIN STREET
Owner delighted at finding pooch but other snatched pet still missing
MEET Keanu, the loveable Yorkshire Terrier who was stolen from his owner’s van outside a Kerry church five months ago – and turned up nearly 400km away in Dublin.
Sadly the pooch’s sister Indiana, who was also taken, is still missing and his owner believes they had been kept together.
But Gerard O’donoghue, from Valentia, is optimistic the tale will have a happy ending.
He said: “I’d be fairly hopeful we’ll get the other one, my guess is whoever stole them kept them together as a pair and Keanu managed to escape.
“I bought the dogs on September 29 and the next day I had them in the van when I went to Mass in Waterville, I left the window a little bit open so they’d have some air and when I came back out they were gone.
“I didn’t even do the full Mass as I was concerned about the dogs, I’d say I was 15 minutes in there at the most before I went back out to check on them, so somebody had to be watching for their window of opportunity to snatch them.
“I’m certain I was watched and followed. The dogs could fetch up to €500 each so I suspect I was targeted.
“I got on to the cops straight away, I was in tears actually, myself and my wife Geraldine were very upset and I was kind of annoyed with myself over how it happened.
“After such a long time we had given up any hope of seeing either of them again but on Tuesday last week we got a call from a vets in Tallaght to say someone walking along the street had spotted Keanu and brought them into them.
“Lucky enough the first thing we had done after buying them was to microchip them so the vets were able to check that.
“I was totally amazed when we got the call, I’ve never been through anything like this before Keanu and Indiana so we had hope really.
“Myself and my wife went up on the train to collect him and like the vets told me he was in the best of form, all the poor thing needed was a wash and that. Other than that he was in great order.
“Would you credit it even though we only had him for a day, he knew us. He knew the smell and when we eventually got him back to our van he knew the smell the second that he got into it.
“When he got home, too, he had the smell straight away and he was very happy.
“A few months after they disappeared I went and bought their brother and sister to fill in the gap in our lives and when Keanu got home there was a fair bit of growling going on before they recognised each other and settled down.
“They’re one big happy family now but sadly there is still one vacant space in the kennel. Hopefully that’ll be filled soon.”
CO KERRY YESTERDAY
kind of abandoned all
I left the window open, went to Mass and then they were gone GERARD O’DONOGHUE