Australia; Dog found 2000km....and nine years later..

JClarke

JClarke

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Lost Brisbane dog found in Melbourne nine years later | National News | News.com.au

A FLEA-bitten dog rescued from a squalid Melbourne backyard is to be reunited with her overjoyed Brisbane owner - nine years after she disappeared. And 17-year-old Chloe Rushby, who was only eight when her best mate disappeared, can't wait to have Muffy back in her arms.

Chloe and her family screamed with joy when the RSPCA called to say Muffy was alive - much older, very scruffy and 2000km away in Melbourne, the Herald Sun reports.

"It would be fair to say that they were extremely elated and extremely excited by the call," said RSPCA inspector Gail Coulter, who found an emaciated Muffy after an anonymous tip.

"They were initially shocked and confused, but when we mentioned the name Muffy - which is part of the microchip information - and gave them a description of her, they knew it was their pet lost so many years ago."

What happened in between is largely a mystery.

The fluffy white bitser is known to have been kept in a filthy backyard for the past two years.

The previous seven years of her life are a mystery.

Ms Coulter found Muffy sleeping on a tattered piece of cardboard after a tip-off about animal cruelty.

The skinny mutt with matted fur was suffering severe dermatitis caused by flea allergy.

The last thing Ms Coulter expected was to find was the bag of skin and bones had been microchipped.

She was even more astounded when her original owners were found in Brisbane and were overjoyed to have their old dog back.

"It's an amazing, extraordinary story on several counts," Ms Coulter said.

"The fact that someone went to the trouble of calling in her case as one of neglect probably saved her life.

"Then the fact that she was microchipped made us realise she had probably come from a very different home and background to the one we found her in.

"And then, most remarkably, that we were able to track down her original owners, nine years later and even though their contact details recorded on the microchip information were hopelessly out of date."

Muffy will be flown home to Brisbane VIP-style next week to be reunited with the girl who never forgot her.

Mum Natalie Lampard said Chloe, who shared her bed with Muffy for three years, still talked about the missing pooch right up until the RSPCA called. Now Chloe can tell Muffy herself how much she missed her.
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This story tugged at my heart strings! So glad the dog is back home where it belongs!
 
True! Saw on the TV news. The owners are looking forward to seeing Muffy again.
 
Wow, that's amazing story, at least Muffy will be reunited back to original owners. :)
 
Just further proves why you should always microchip your pet! If they are lost there is a good chance that they will be reunited with you if they land in the right hands.

It would be interesting to find out what this dog's story has been for all these years.
 
Dog found 9 years on, 1,200 miles away

SYDNEY - Nine years after vanishing from outside her Australian family's home, Muffy the dog was found alive and well this month in another backyard — 1,200 miles away — officials said Thursday.

Inspectors with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were investigating a possible animal cruelty case at a home in the southern city of Melbourne two weeks ago when they found the fluffy white mutt sleeping outside on a scrap of cardboard, Victoria state RSPCA spokesman Tim Pilgrim said.

A microchip in Muffy's neck identified her owners, and, after a few days of searching for a current phone number, officials tracked down Natalie Lampard, who hadn't seen Muffy since the pooch disappeared from her backyard in the eastern city of Brisbane nine years ago.
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"When the RSPCA described her, I told them her name; I knew immediately it was our Muffy," Lampard said. "It was totally out of the blue — after nine years, I thought she was long gone."

‘The mystery continues’
The owners of the Melbourne house where Muffy was discovered said they found the dog about a year ago wandering along a street, Pilgrim said. But where had Muffy spent the previous eight years? And how did she get all the way to Melbourne — about 1,200 miles from Brisbane?

"Nobody knows," Pilgrim said. "The mystery continues for old Muffy."

Muffy was suffering from a severe allergic reaction to fleas and has been under treatment since the RSPCA removed her from the Melbourne home, Pilgrim said. The dog, which the Lampards originally adopted from an RSPCA shelter near Brisbane, is recovering well and should be in good enough shape to fly back home on Tuesday, Pilgrim said.

Lampard got Muffy as a gift for her now 17-year-old daughter Chloe, and the two had been inseparable, Lampard said.

"After the RSPCA called, I rang my daughter and asked her if she was sitting down, then told her they'd found Muffy," Lampard said. "She's over the moon and there'll be a few tears shed when they see each other again. But just how she got down to Melbourne I guess is a mystery that will never be answered."

Dog found 9 years on, 1,200 miles away - Wonderful World- msnbc.com

Can't imagine for 9 years! :eek:
 
Muffy! :grouphug:

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This reminds me to get one of my dogs microchipped. One dog came from the shelter chipped. My other dog came from a rescue without a chip. She has a engraved tag, but I want to have a chip back up. She's such a great dog and I would be heartbroken to lose her.
 
Update!

:aw: Muffy's home!

Dog lost for nine years reunited with owner | National News | News.com.au

IT'S been a long nine years, but after a miraculous rescue and a round trip of 4000km, Muffy the mutt is home in the arms of her owner at last.

It was an emotional reunion on the Gold Coast on Tuesday for Muffy and 17-year-old Chloe Rushby, who thought she'd never see her beloved pet again after she disappeared.

"I feel totally overwhelmed," said Ms Chloe as she held Muffy in her arms. "I'm never letting her out of my sight again."

Like many who flee to the Gold Coast to escape Melbourne's winters, Muffy is now looking forward to a luxurious retirement in her old age.

RSPCA officers were called to a Melbourne home to investigate a possible case of animal cruelty some months ago. Sleeping on a scrap of cardboard was Muffy.

After some recuperation time for Muffy, the officers contacted the real owners, identifying them from a microchip.

Muffy's new home on a canal at Broadbeach Waters will be like heaven.

Chloe's father Dean Rushby said the family's two pet dogs had both died in the past few months.

"We lost our 14-year-old border collie to cancer on Christmas Day," he said. "So having Muffy home with Chloe again is just fantastic.

"Chloe has everything ready, she has a big bedroom and that's where Muffy will be sleeping every night from now on.

"And in the day there's a lovely sandy beach on the canal where she can play and go for a little paddle."

Chloe said her dog, which was a present for her third birthday, was in pretty bad shape when she was first rescued by the RSPCA.

"But she's looking much better now," she said as she gave Muffy another cuddle. "She feels good."
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