DOGNAPPED TILLY FOUND SAFE AND SOUND!
Police found dog on the streets
A DOG stolen in a raid on a charity’s kennels has been found wandering the streets.
Springer Spaniel Tilly was described as being ‘traumatised’ after being picked up by police 32 miles away in Telford.
It is believed 11-year-old Tilly had been taken in a case of mistaken identity after a break-in at Hardiwick Kennels in Caverswall was discovered on Sunday.
Thieves were instead thought to be after awardwinning Molly – a much younger dog – who had been re-homed days earlier.
John Powell, a trustee with the Cocker and English Springer Spaniel Rescue charity CAESSR, had then received a phone call from a withheld number later on Sunday from a man with an Irish accent claiming to have Tilly in Telford. But a round-trip to the Shropshire town proved futile after the man failed to show up.
John, from Stoke, then received the ‘incredible’ news Tilly had been found late on Tuesday night.
He said: “The police had picked her up. She was wandering the streets. I went straight away to collect her and she’s now back at the kennels.
“She’s very traumatised. Before she was really perky and her tail would never stop wagging. But now she’s very quiet. She just seems depressed. She must have been through hell.
“She’s going for a checkup at the vets today and hopefully she’ll be back to her old self soon. She has a lovely nature.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the gang who stole her dumped her after she became too hot to handle. It’s just devastating that they can do something like this but I doubt it will deter them.”
Tilly had only been taken in by the charity last week after she was picked up by the dog warden in Stoke-ontrent.
CAESSR agreed to take her in after her chip revealed her owner was very ill in hospital.
John says the charity has since been inundated with offers of a loving home for Tilly, who has kidney problems and needs daily medication.
He added: “A lot of people have come forward to say they’re interested in fostering Tilly. We will get her fixed up soon enough.”