Dogged canine gets in a (cat) flap
A RESCUE dog bit off more than he could chew and caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage when he became trapped while trying to squeeze through a cat flap.
Helene Plummer thought all was well as she set off to work leaving her beloved pet Theo at home.
But when she returned a few hours later, the thermal electronics assembler was horrified to see Theo’s head sticking forlornly out of the back door as she walked up the garden path.
The seven-year-old German Shepherd cross had tried to get through the cat flap and – once stranded – attempted to chew his way out.
Helene, 50, who lives in Mossley, Greater Manchester, with her 45-yearold partner Julian Hardy, their Jack Russell cross Archie and cats Willow and Indy, said: “As soon as I saw him there looking sorry for himself with his head sticking out I just thought, ‘My poor lad... my poor door’.
“I came home from work and I always get into the house through the back door. I panicked and rushed to help him get out. I was really shocked. Those doors are made to be burglar-proof, but clearly they aren’t Theo-proof.
“That door is a good four-and-a-half centimetres thick.
“It’s the cat flap he’s got through originally and he’s managed to chew all the way through.”
Helene believes the canine carnage occurred when Theo, who is still new to the family, accidentally shut himself in the kitchen and panicked, resorting to chewing the cat flap in a desperate bid to escape.
She said: “It was carnage, bits of the door were over the floor. He’d had a good old go at it.
“I have no idea how long he’d been trapped in the kitchen or how long it took him to get through the door.
Panicked
“It’s not the biggest space, so he must have panicked like crazy and tried to get out of the kitchen somehow through the cat flap.
“I was out at work from 8am until 1pm, so he had plenty of time to get himself into trouble.”
Helene said Theo had moved around several homes and kennels before settling down with her family.
She said: “We have had to board up the back door, which will cost £850 to replace, but Theo’s absolutely fine now.
“I don’t think he even remembers doing it at all.
“He has forgotten all about it, he’s just a happy, loving little dog.”