A Co Cork family was celebrating yesterday after its Tibetan terrier, which went missing close to two years ago, made his way back to the family home near Blarney.
Arnie (11), who was named after the former movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, disappeared from the garden of his home in Killeens 21 months ago. His owner, Gillian Singleton, said she believes the terrier was stolen for breeding purposes.
Ms Singleton told Cork's 96FM one minute her "happy beautifully groomed dog" was out playing in the garden and the next he was gone. She recalls seeing a van in the area at the time and feels the driver may have stolen her dog.
Gillian Singleton's children, David (9) and Emily (6), were devastated following the disappearance of their dog and immediately went searching for him. They went from "Blarney to Mitchelstown" looking for him and contacted dog wardens and local animal homes. Although Arnie was wearing a dog tag with the family name and address, he was not found.
Eventually their search led them to rescue another dog, Lucky, who was close to death when they brought him home.
Last week, while Gillian and her husband Diarmuid were in Portugal, a neighbour phoned Gillian's mother to say a dog had been lurking outside their home, which turned out to be Arnie. However, he was in bad shape and had lost considerable weight.
Ms Singleton said the family was delighted to have Arnie home but that they were sad at the treatment he received at the hands of whoever stole him.