Missing SBT turns up 130 miles away from home

Melody Brooke with her dog, Lula

EMILY DENNIS Last updated: 10/09/2010 11:00:00


When Melody Brookes's dog, Lula, was stolen she never thought she would see her beloved pet again.

The 32-year-old lecturer was devastated when her nine-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier was snatched while out on a walk at Seething, near Loddon, where she used to live, on April 6, 2008.

But Miss Brookes was stunned when more than two years later she received a call out of the blue to say that Lula had been found - 130 miles away in Kent.

The happy ending is all thanks to the tiny microchip that was implanted in Lula's neck when she was a puppy.

Lorraine Baseden, dog warden for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, in Kent, received a report of a stray dog in the village of Ryarsh in Kent on August 24.

She collected the dog and checked it for a microchip and was able to discover that Lula belonged to Miss Brookes.

To make matters difficult, at the time Miss Brookes was camping on the Norfolk coast and her mobile phone did not have a signal.

But with the help of charity Doglost, which had a registered lost dog report for Lula, wardens were able to get in contact with Miss Brookes via her mother, Rosemary, with whom she now lives at Saxlingham Nethergate, near Norwich, who contacted her daughter with the good news.

Miss Brookes, a lecturer in horticulture at Easton College, was overjoyed and travelled to Kent the following day to be reunited with Lula, who is now back at home and settling in well.

Lula recognised her owner when she saw her. Miss Brookes said: “She recognised my mum first and then she ran straight to me.

“Lula seems very happy to be back in her old bed, eating her favourite biscuits - it's as if she never left!

“When she went missing it was devastating, and after months of searching and publicising her disappearance with no success, I really thought I wouldn't see her again.

“I don't know what happened to her or what kind of life she's had in the past two years but I'm pleased to have her back - thank goodness I had her micro-chipped!”

Miss Brookes added: “It was the not knowing that was the worst bit. You think she might be caught in a trap somewhere or used for dog fighting. All the possibilities go through your mind. I feel for anyone who has gone though having a lost dog and I hope this gives other people hope not to give up.”

Miss Brookes said Lula was snatched while out on a morning walk.

She saw a white van approach and said she thought someone must have called her over.

Miss Brookes contacted the police and said there were reports of other dogs going missing in the area around the same time.

David Campbell-Lenaghan, waste and street scene officer at Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, said Miss Brookes and Lula were very lucky. Out of 230 stray dogs found last year, the council was only able to reunite about 30 with their owners because they had been identified by collars or microchipped.

“We have picked up dogs in Kent that have gone missing from London but that is about as far afield as we have been able to reunite them,” he said. “It is not just the distance but the fact is has been such a long time since she went missing.”

He added: “Lula had been extremely well looked after wherever she had been. She has a very glossy coat and has put on a lot of weight. Nobody else has come forward to claim her. If only Lula could talk.”

Missing Seething dog turns up 130 miles away from home - Norfolk News - EDP24