Mystery surrounds the discovery of missing pets in Wigan

Wigan Today reported how Kat Conway’s dog Jessie was found on a train near Wigan, after she fell ill in London, and Donna Gallacher’s cat Chubbs was taken to a vet in Ashton 10 years after going missing in Dorset.

It is not the first time that missing animals have been found in Wigan, with two basset hounds stolen from Leicestershire last year found by police in Hindley.

And there were possible sightings of 10-week-old pocket bully Skylar in Norley, Marsh Green and Leigh, after she was stolen from a home in Salford during an armed robbery.

In a reverse situation, just two months ago Katie Shakeshaft’s Jack Russell-Yorkshire terrier mix breeds Scrappy and Mopsy were taken from her farm in Garswood.

That had a happy ending, as police launched an investigation and the two dogs were found in Farnworth, Bolton.

Sometimes the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of pets is unclear, such as when concerns were raised about a dog wandering the streets in Ince last month.

Figures have previously revealed that hundreds of dogs were reported stolen in Greater Manchester over a five-year period.

Greater Manchester Police recorded 679 dog thefts between 2015 and 2019, according to a Freedom of Information request from Direct Line Pet Insurance, and there were concerns people could be unknowingly buying stolen pets.

Wigan Today revealed which breeds of dogs were most likely to be stolen last month.