Lost Dog Returned Just in Time for Christmas

A missing dog has been reunited with its owners after disappearing for more than two years, proving that in this case, a dog isn’t just for life, it’s also for Christmas

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross was handed to Hounslow Council’s animal warden team who discovered that the pet had been micro-chipped by the legal owners.

Further investigation revealed that the dog – with the seasonally appropriate name Sprout - was stolen from outside a shop in Ealing in July 2005.

Sprout has had a colourful life for a young dog, spending some of his early life in the famous Battersea Dogs’ Home. The dogs’ home helped to publicise his disappearance on national television in 2006, a move that led to a £1,000 reward being put forward by ITV’s Paul O Grady show and former Eastenders’ star Wendy Richards.

It is believed that Sprout has been living with another family in Hounslow for more than two years. The four-year-old terrier then went missing for a second time and found his way back home to his rightful owners after two teenage boys found him and handed him to Hounslow Council.

Sprout’s owner, Charlotte Wise and Perry Gibb, who lived in Ealing at the time Sprout was stolen, have since moved to Hither Green in South East London. They now have two new arrivals, a baby daughter and another Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Sprout’s mum, Charlotte, said:

“We’re so surprised.  We were devastated when he was stolen and we didn’t think we’d ever get him back. Sprout is as fit as a fiddle. He’s loving being home and fitting in with the new arrivals.”

Sprout’s dad, Perry, added:

“We got a call to say that he’d been found in Hounslow with no collar and luckily the two boys that found him took him to the pound. It’s just lovely to have him home where he belongs.”

The unlikely tale is a timely reminder of the benefits of having your pet micro-chipped, a simple procedure that is provided by most vets.

According to Sprout’s owners, it also adds weight to a campaign by the website www.doglost.co.uk to make it compulsory for all organisations that come into contact with dogs to check them for micro-chips.

Charlotte said:

“Sprout is the perfect example of how a lot of heartache could have been avoided. The people who had Sprout had apparently registered him with a vet. If the vet had scanned him we would have had him home almost immediately, not two and a half years later.”

Hounslow Council’s animal warden team is also using Sprout’s Christmas tale to emphasise that anyone who finds a stray dog should contact the council’s animal wardens who will do their best to return it safely to its owners.

In the meantime, there will be at least one family in London who will be delighted to have a lot of Sprout this Christmas

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