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

Sep 9 2009 Bromborough and Bebington 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.

“At this point, after two days of owning Scamp, they said they were not willing to part with the dog under any circumstances.

“We feel heartbroken as Scamp has been part of our family for five years.

“I just feel that Janet and I have a moral right on our side.

“We are just so upset about the whole situation.

“Scamp is usually scratching away every morning when we wake up and now the house feels empty.

“This is something that’s not really going to go away.”

A council spokesperson said: “Obviously we understand the upset and frustration of the original owners of this pet, but we have acted in good faith and in accordance with procedural and legislative requirements around stray dogs.

“Indeed we have appealed to the new owners on the de Lacys’ behalf to ask if they would consider returning the dog. “However, they state the dog has settled into their household and family and have refused, which is their right.”