Family’s joy as they are reunited with lost pet
A partially blind and deaf pet who was missing for more than a week is back with his family – after a local dog walking business came to his rescue.
Sarge, an elderly brindle Staffordshire bull terrier, vanished while on a walk at Loch Lochy on Wednesday April 26.
His owners, who are staying at Gairlochy Holiday Park having recently returned to the area, contacted the Lochaber Times to ask readers to join the search to help find and bring the 17-year-old home. Their plea was read on our website by the team at Achnacarry Country Dog Walking, who managed to track down the stricken pet during one of their outings on the estate.
One of their staff members heard a dog barking and in distress when out on their rounds on Wednesday and went to investigate – only to discover it was Sarge. They managed to carry him back into their van and contacted owner Kellymarie O’Rourke to tell her the good news. Kellymarie, who has had Sarge since he was a pup, says the family cannot thank the dog walking firm enough for making sure the “tail” enjoyed a happy ending.
She said: “I can’t praise the guys at the business highly enough, they are amazing and we are so grateful to them.
“It was a terrible time and we were all so worried. When so long passes you start to fear he might never come back home, but we were determined not to give up on Sarge. I couldn’t sleep or eat for thinking of him out there on his own and
Savannah [Kellymarie’s young daughter] was so upset.
“We are just so relieved to have him back with us. He is a little worse for wear, has lost quite a bit of weight and returned covered in bites and ticks, but otherwise he is fine. He spent the night curled up in his bed by the fire as he was completely exhausted.
“We would like to thank everyone who got involved, the response from the public was amazing and it shows what a brilliant community we have here. But most of all we want to say a huge thank you to the lady from the dog walking business who found him at Achnacarry Estate.
“We believe she is called
Megan and to us she is an absolute hero.”
A spokesperson for Achnacarry Country Dog Walking said they were happy to play a part in Sarge’s rescue.
The spokesperson added: “We heard him barking and in distress, and managed to track him down. We’re just happy that we could play a part in reuniting him with his family and are delighted to hear that he is enjoying being back home and getting over his ordeal with lots of pats and treats.”