Chip leads to return of stolen dog 5 months on
A computer chip led to a County Wexford family being reunited with a pet dog stolen from outside their home five months ago and which was found more than 100km away.
The bichon frise was seen by a member of the public loose on a road in an estate in Tallaght and reported to the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
And when the dog was picked up and subsequently scanned by the DSPCA, it turned out to be not just any bichon frise, but a bichon frise called Coco who had gone missing from Sinead Brennan’s home at Carrigduff, Bunclody, last October.
‘We thought at first she had just strayed, but Bunclody is not that big and when we found no trace of her, we realised that she may have been stolen,’ said Sinead.
Coincidentally at around the same time, the Wexford branch of the SPCA was warning people to be on the alert after reports that small breeds such as bichons and shih-tzus were being targeted by thieves.
Last week, Sinead’s former partner Diarmuid received a call from the DSPCA to say that her daughter Aobhinn’s dog Coco had been found.
‘We are over the moon,’ said Sinead, who travelled to Dublin with 12-year-old Aobhinn and her other daughter, Roisin, aged 13, to collect the much-loved family pet, with lot of hugs and licks exchanged at the happy reunion.
‘She seems all right, she’s just lost a little weight and is resting and recuperating now as well as getting a lot of pampering,’ said Sinead.
‘When our inspector found Coco she was neglected. She was terrified, dirty, matted, and had very sore skin but when he got her back to the shelter he scanned her and realised she was microchipped,’ said the SPCA.
‘Once again we see the importance of having our pet’s microchipped and registered, If Coco’s family had not done this they would probably never have seen her again!’ they said.
Sinead said the family’s experience was proof of the value of micro-chipping and urged everyone with a pet dog to get it done.