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Search forSparky's tale is a hairy one
Thursday, August 14, 2008, 09:00
Just how 10-year-old Sparky managed the amazing feat is anybody's guess, but the overjoyed family who thought they would never hear him woof again are just pleased to have him home.
Helen Davis, of Penygroes Road, Caerbryn, and her devastated children searched high and low after the dog suddenly disappeared in June last year.
"Sparky, who was well-known and quite a character in the village, seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth," said Helen.
"He just went missing after taking a stroll around the village after the house gate was left open."
Mum-of-four Ms Davis said Sparky was last spotted outside the Badgers pub shortly before 9am on Sunday, June 24.
When he failed to return home, the worried family got in touch with police, the RSPCA and the council dog warden.
Posters featuring a photo of missing Sparky were plastered across the Ammanford and Carmarthen area.
Ms Davis said she also put the labrador's details on doglost. co.uk - a database of animals that have been lost or found.
Then, some eight months after Sparky's out-of-the-blue disappearance, he was turned up back at home just as suddenly as he had left.
It was discovered he had somehow ended up in a dog pound in Chorley, Lancashire, before being released to a Mrs Penny Brooks who lived in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
Mrs Brooks spotted Sparky's details on the web and contacted Ms Davis to tell her she now had the animal.
The delighted Ammanford family then set off on a 600-mile round trip to be reunited with their beloved pet.
Ms Davis added: "We all loved Sparky and were overjoyed when he was found.
"When he saw us, he barked, but seemed a bit disoriented.
"But as soon as I said 'Sparks', he jumped into the car and we finally had him back."
Ms Davis said she believes Sparky might have been stolen.
"It was a nightmare having him missing," she continued.
"Some of the children were so upset they would cry at night about it."
Ms Davis said they had originally taken in Sparky from a dog pound in Bridgend.
"Now we don't dare leave him out of our sight," she added.
Police have previously expressed concerns about the number of dogs being stolen in Carmarthenshire in recent years.
Thirty-six dogs and puppies valued at £15,000 were stolen from Pengoiallt Farm, Felingwm Uchaf, at the beginning of this month.
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