Lost Sydney dog found in Clarence

©iStockphoto.com/jclegg

MANY of us have lost pets over the years either through them wandering away or being stolen.

But while we have shared in that misfortune, few if any of us have had a pet returned to us after eight years.

John Jahshan, a 35-year-old bachelor from Blacktown in Sydney, lost his pet English Staffordshire when she was just two years of age in 2001.

For more than eight months he phoned nearby vets and checked the lost and found columns in his local Sydney paper, but the dog he'd named 'Fatty' had seemingly vanished.

Last week he got a call from Clarence Valley ranger, John Hallam, to say he'd picked up an old English Staffy that had a microchip that listed him as the owner. “I couldn't believe it, I'd given up any hope of seeing Fatty many years ago,” John said.

“Apparently the dog had wandered into a person's house in a nearby Sydney suburb and had been accepted as a member of that family for years.

“It was only when that family went on a Yamba holiday and the dog strayed away that the chance came up for me to be reunited with her.

“I still have her best mate, a male Staffy, with me and I'm sure he'll also be delighted to have her back in the fold.”

John said that Fatty had a beautiful temperament and he missed her badly after she wandered away in 2001.

“I use to take her for walks down to a local McDonald's and we'd go through the drive-through so I could order two ice-cream cones, one for me and one for her,” he laughed.

“I suppose it was my fault that she became so fat, and I understand she still is.”

Fatty, presently residing at the Grafton pound, will be returned to her owner in Sydney via a REX Airlines flight next Tuesday.