Owner's heartache as beloved dog is given to a stranger in Wigan

Sandra Shaw, 44, had been planning to go to Cumbria last Monday to stay with her daughter and was travelling with her two-year-old dog Angel, a cross between a Lhasa Apso and Maltese.

But she had been drinking alcohol and was not allowed on the train at Wigan Wallgate.

Sandra was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and taken into police custody - but Angel was not.

She said: “There was a woman there at the time when I was getting arrested and she told the police that she knew me and that I was her friend. The police just gave her the dog.”

Sandra asked where Angel was while she was in police cells, but officers did not know anything about her dog.

She stayed in custody overnight and appeared before Wigan magistrates the following morning, where she was fined.

But still no-one could tell her where Angel was.

Sandra, who has two children and a grandchild, said: “I was absolutely in bits. When I came out of the court I got a bus back to the police station and told them there was a dog, but they said they couldn’t do anything until they spoke to the officers when they were back on duty.”

Officers checked the footage from their body cameras and identified the woman who had taken the dog.

Sandra did not know the woman, but believes she was homeless and sold Angel shortly afterwards for £100.

The search for Angel got under way, with Sandra and her partner Andy Grunsell visiting the woman’s parents to ask about places where she could be.

They went to various locations to search for her and spoke to some “absolutely brilliant” homeless people who offered to look out for her.

Sandra said: “For five days I was living in my car, walking the streets, going round all the homeless places.”

Sandra and Andy, who live in Skelmersdale, were supported by DogLost, which searches for missing and stolen dogs.

Volunteers shared alerts about Angel online and 100 posters were printed, which they handed out to people and displayed in the town centre.

Sandra said: “It was horrible. It was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. I didn’t sleep. I kept having massive panic attacks thinking maybe she has been given to dog fighters and thrown in the canal.”

But on Saturday they received the breakthrough they needed, when a woman phoned to say she had seen a notice about Angel and she had her.

Sandra and Andy travelled to Ince to collect Angel and gave the woman £150, replacing the money she had paid for her.

Sandra, who works as a barber, was delighted to be reunited with her beloved dog.

She said: “I thought I would never see her again, it was awful. She was made up to see us.

“She has been spoilt rotten. She is eating smoked salmon and tuna and having bubble baths.”

While Angel is home, Sandra wants to highlight what happened to prevent it happening again.

Police policy is that a dog should only be removed from someone being taken into custody when absolutely necessary and all efforts should be made to find a relative, neighbour or friend to take them.

She has the backing of Fiona Monger, North West co-ordinator for DogLost, who said: “It has been an absolute nightmare but had the police followed correct procedures, this would never have happened.”

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “On Monday, June 1 officers responded to concerns for the welfare of a woman on Wallgate, Wigan. The woman was in possession of a dog.

“The 44-year-old woman was subsequently arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly; and the dog in her possession was temporarily placed in the care of a woman who was believed to be a friend, in accordance with current policy.

“After being informed that the dog had not been returned to its owner, enquiries were conducted to confirm the location of the dog. Officers maintained contact with the family of the owner throughout these enquiries.

“The dog was subsequently located by the owner.

“We appreciate that this was a distressing time for the owners and are pleased that they have since been reunited with their dog.”

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