Eight-year-old pooch Phoebe was stolen from her Helen and Chris Amos’s garden on Saturday evening – and they ended up having to pay £350 to get her back.
Devastated Helen realised her beloved pup was missing at around 5 pm on Saturday.
She said: “Phoebe is a known sun worshiper and she’d been outside in the garden enjoying the sun. She’s a good girl and never leaves the garden, so it was a shock when we couldn’t find her.”
Helen, husband Chris and family and friends searched into the night and their daughter, Penny McLatchie, launched a social media appeal to help find the family pet, which was shared thousands of times.
Helen said: “We had to give up when it got too dark but I couldn’t sleep for worry. The next day we searched the service road, to see if maybe she’d been clipped by a car, but nothing.
“So many people were looking and on alert and she’s the only Boston Terrier in town so she’s easy to spot-Iwas losing hope.”
But a phone call on Monday offered a positive link when a couple from Carlisle got in touch to say a dog they purchased for their son’s birthday might be Phoebe.
Helen said: “They said that they bought what they were told was a French Bulldog for £350 for their son but on closer inspection they realised it was a Boston Terrier.
“They saw Penny’s social media post about Phoebe. They had been told the dog was called Amy but it didn’t respond to that name but when they said Phoebe she responded, so they rang Penny to ask if they might have our dog.”
After a nerve wracking trip to Carlisle the family were pleased to discover the dog was in fact Phoebe and paid the couple £350 to compensate for the money they said they had lost.
She is now at home reunited with the family’s two Miniature Schnauzers and eight newborn puppies. And Helen says she is touched by the response their plea for help received.
She said: “Putting things into perspective I know Phoebe is only a dog, that’s whatalot of people will think, she’s not a child – that’s why I’m so touched by people’s efforts to help us find her.
“A special thanks to my daughters for their help too.”
But the dog owner has issued a warning to others, she said: “Phoebe was without a doubt stolen. I’ll be keeping my doors locked and not letting my dogs out of my sight.
“Clearly someone chose to target this area and they could target it again so please be careful and be on alert. This whole experience has been terrible and so upsetting, I’m lucky that I got my girl back but if it happens again the owners might not be so fortunate.”
