Stolen dog is rescued after six months

An animal-loving teenager has reunited a dog with its owners after it was found chained up and soaking wet in Wigan - six months after it was stolen.

Katie Swales, 18, from Haydock, saw online pictures of the soaking wet dog tied up at King’s Croft Court with no water and visible wear marks around his neck.

She hitched a lift there with another woman called Donna who had also been drawn to help after seeing the viral post on Facebook.

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Katie said: “I have worked with animals since I was 13, in shelters, boarding kennels and dog groomers so I have the experience and knowledge on how to approach nervous or scared dogs. I went down with my microchip scanner and a pocket full of treats to help gain the trust of Lucky.”

Once the terrified pooch had been released from his shackles, Katie went about trying to locate his owners.

“I volunteer for a Facebook group called Scouse Pets 2, so I scanned and got his personal chip number up and contacted one of the other admins who can access the chip company,” she said. “She called them and they informed the owner. They told me his name and age and about five minutes later the owner called me, telling me what had happened and that she had been trying to get Lucky back since December.”

Lucky was taken to Leigh Cats’ and Dogs’ Home before being picked up by her Preston owner for a £55 fee. Katie was told that the owner had given Lucky to a friend to look after only to find to her horror that he had been listed for sale on Gumtree. By the time she returned home to retrieve Lucky, he had already been sold to new owners.

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The images of the soaking dog chained to a bollard caused outrage across social media while Katie has been praised for her efforts. She said: “I just love helping with both people and humans. I love the nice happy ending that Lucky has got too.”

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