The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Keanu believe it?
Stolen dog recovered in Dublin four months later
VALENTIA couple Gerard and Geraldine O’Donoghue keep a tight hold onto their beloved canine friend ‘Keanu’ after the Teacup Yorkie was found alive and well almost four months after he was stolen.
And photographer Christy Riordan captured the delight on the couple’s faces this week.
Gerard had only purchased the two puppies 24 hours previously when Keanu and his puppy brother were stolen outside Loher Church, Waterville – only to be found wandering alone on a Tallaght street last Tuesday morning.
An early train to Dublin later and the relieved couple were joyfully re-united with a thankfully healthy Keanu.
I WAS JUST WALKING AROUND IN CIRCES AND SCRATCHING MY HEAD. I WAS COMPLETELY SWEPT OFF MY FEET
“JUST completely swept off my feet,” – the words of Valentia man Gerard O’Donoghue after he and his wife, Geraldine, were re-united with Keanu, their Teacup ‘Yorkie’ puppy, who was stolen from Gerard’s van in Waterville almost four months ago.
Gerard, who had only purchased Keanu and another puppy 24 hours earlier, was left distraught on September 30 when he came out of Mass in Loher Church in Waterville to discover that his two dogs had been stolen from his van.
“I got on to the Gardaí straight away. I was bawling crying; I was very upset over it,” Gerard told The Kerryman this week.
Gerard said that he never gave up hope of finding Keanu and Keanu’s brother, though, choosing to maintain positive thoughts that they would be found.
As time went on, however, Gerard said that he purchased two more dogs – a brother and sister of the two stolen – and hoped that one day the family would be re-united.
Suddenly, last Tuesday, the call that Gerard had been waiting and hoping for arrived: Keanu had been found – walking alone along a street in Tallaght.
A quick scan of Keanu’s microchip confirmed that Geraldine was the registered owner, and the wheels for the reunion were set in motion.
“I was just walking around in circles and scratching my head. I was just completely swept off my feet,” said Gerard of the moment he found out that Keanu was rescued.
With no time to waste, Gerard and Geraldine hopped on the train to Dublin and were soon on their way to Tallaght – although they feeling understandably nervous.
“I was getting fairly nervous going out to meet him because I didn’t know what to expect,” Gerard said.
“They told me, though, that all the dog needed was a wash and that, other than that, he was in great order.
“Would you believe it that even though we only had the dog 24 hours, 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 the van.
“When he got home, too, he had the smell straight away, and he was very contented. Now, there was an hour of a small bit of growling between him and the other two dogs, but we [he and Geraldine] are very good peacemakers, so they settled down quickly,” he joked.
Gerard said that Keanu has quickly settled back into life with his brothers and sisters, and he added that his story is one which should give hope to everyone else out there who has been the victim of dog thefts:
“Things can turn out okay.”