Stolen dog is reunited with Derbyshire owner

A Mastin Moor woman who has been reunited with her stolen dog says she '˜hasn't stopped smiling since'.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Apr 2017, 16:04 BST
Updated 9th May 2017, 20:19 BST
Lesley Wheatcroft and her daughter Rebecca Lucas, 17, are reunited with Rebecca's Shih Tzu dog, Honey.Lesley Wheatcroft and her daughter Rebecca Lucas, 17, are reunited with Rebecca's Shih Tzu dog, Honey.
Lesley Wheatcroft and her daughter Rebecca Lucas, 17, are reunited with Rebecca's Shih Tzu dog, Honey.

Honey, a six-year-old female Shih Tzu went missing from Lesley Wheatcroft’s Mastin Moor garden two weeks ago.

After a reported sighting of her being taken into a car on Worksop Road, nothing more was heard of her - until last weekend.

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Lesley, 53, said: “We got a call on Saturday from a vets in Barnsley to say they had her.

Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.
Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.

“She had been taken there by a lady who had found her straying - the vets scanned her and she came up registered stolen.

“We went to pick her up the same day and had her home that night.

“She has lost some weight but other than that she is fine.”

Lesley lives on Edale Road with husband Paul, daughter Rebecca and the family’s other dog Jack.

Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.
Rebecca Lucas, 17, is reunited with her Shih Tzu dog, Honey.
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She said that 17-year-old Rebecca - who has special needs - had been distraught by Honey’s disappearance.

“I am just so relieved,” said Lesley.

“I phoned the lady who found Honey to thank her and she told me two young lads came looking for her later that afternoon.

“They said she was their dog and her name was Dotty.

“We are not quite sure what had happened to her while she was missing but whoever had her wanted to keep her.

“I’m just so grateful to the lady who found her.”

When she went missing, Lesley feared Honey may have been stolen to sell on - or even worse, to be used as bait.

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She now says her family would like to thank everybody who shared their appeal over the last two weeks.

“I can’t stress enough to people - get your pets micro-chipped,” she said.

“If she hadn’t been micro-chipped I would never have seen her again.

“I have not stopped smiling since.”

The surgery which identified her - The Pet Vet in Barnsley - wrote about the ‘fairy-tale ending’ on their Facebook site on Saturday.

They said the reunion provoked ‘tears of joy’ from both the Honey’s owners and the veterinary staff.

They added they were ‘overwhelmed’ by the happiness on Honey’s face when she saw her ‘mum and dad’.

Related topics:DerbyshireBarnsleyShih Tzu