Heartbroken Wirral couple return from holiday to find their dog had been re-homed

Sep 9 2009 Birkenhead News

A HEARTBROKEN couple returned from holiday to find their pet of five years had been re-homed.

Shane and Janet de Lacy left their dog Scamp in the care of their daughter Sian, 35, who lives in Wallasey, when they travelled to Sicily for two weeks.

On August 21, five days into the de Lacy’s holiday, Scamp, a Lhasa Apso worth £1,000, went missing from Sian’s home and was later recovered by the council’s kennel service.

Despite reporting the dog missing, Sian was not contacted to say Scamp had been found.

When Shane and Janet – from Monmouth, South Wales – arrived home to find their beloved pet was gone, they called the council’s kennel’s service and discovered Scamp had been renamed Sweetie and re-homed by the council.

She had not been wearing a collar when she was found and her microchip tag traced back to an animal sanctuary where she was originally purchased by the de Lacys.

However the sanctuary had no details of Scamp’s owners.

Shane said: “My wife and I were numb with shock when we arrived at our daughter’s to find the dog was not there.

“We felt a little bit better when we found out Scamp was safe, but we really want her back.

“When the council explained that they had found and re-homed the dog within seven days, the legal amount of time, my wife wrote a letter to the new owners, pleading with them to return her.