Family Reunited With Dog Stolen Almost Five Years Ago

A dog stolen almost five years ago has been returned to her owners.

French bulldog Roxie was just 18 weeks old when she was pinched from Shona Macleod's front garden in Carlisle, UK, back in March 2017.

After going so long without her, the family naturally assumed they would never see Roxie again, but on 30 October - her fifth birthday - she was spotted mooching through Rickerby Park by the council's stray dog team.

Shona Macleod

Thankfully, she was microchipped and the council were able to return Roxie to her astonished family.

Mum-of-three Shona told the BBC: "I thought it was my new dog that had escaped from the garden when I saw the council worker with a dog at the door.

"I cried my eyes out when I realised it was Roxie."

Indeed, the family has changed a fair bit in the four years and eight months since Roxie was nicked.

There are two more children for Roxie to get used to, as well as Bear - another French bulldog bought earlier this year.

But Shona said she's settled 'like she's never been away'.

She added: "Bear is much bigger but quite dopey and just loves Roxie, they're both getting on together so well."

Shona Macleod

Roxie was found in good condition, all things considered, but had to be treated for fleas. She's also suspected to have had puppies of her own.

Shona said: "She's not timid, so although she hasn't been looked after properly I don't think she's been badly treated."

Both Shona and Carlisle City Council hope Roxie's story will highlight the importance of getting pets microchipped, enabling owners to be contacted should they go missing.

A council spokesperson told the BBC: "This case shows how important it is to get your dog microchipped and also to keep the details up to date.

"When our stray dog service found her we were able to check the microchip and get the registered details of the person who reported her stolen."

Earlier this year, a woman was reunited with her dog almost eight years after it went missing - and weirdly, the pooch was called Roxy too!

Magdalena Klubczuk, from Connah's Quay in Wales, had feared her Shih Tzu had been run over and killed after she disappeared from her garden in spring 2013.

So, you can probably imagine her surprise when she got a phone call from Dawn Taylor at Skylor's Animal Rescue who told her Roxy had been found wandering the streets of Buckley.

Alamy Stock Photo

Roxy was found at around 11pm on New Year's Eve and taken to the centre where Dawn scanned her to check for a microchip, which allowed her to get Magdalena's contact details and call her up.

Magdalena told the Daily Post: "When I received the phone call I told them it was not possible.

"When she explained I couldn't even speak I was that shocked.

"We've spent all these years thinking she was dead."

So let this be a lesson to us all - if we don't wanna lose our pets forever, we should get them microchipped and we shouldn't call them Roxie/Roxy.

Topics: Dog, Awesome, Community, Animals, Dogs

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey