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REUNITED: Return of the runaway dog
A COUPLE have been reunited with their pet dog which escaped kennels as they enjoyed a holiday cruise and spent five days on the run.
A COUPLE have been reunited with their pet dog which escaped kennels as they enjoyed a holiday cruise and spent five days on the run.Retired couple Roger and Pam Howland drove hundreds of miles scouring Peterborough and the surrounding area looking for Toby, a nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier.
They had been devastated to hear of Toby's disappearance especially after they had returned home from holiday on Friday to learn another of their three dogs had died of a longstanding heart problem.
Roger and Pam, who had been on a two-week Mediterranean cruise, were saddened, but not shocked, to learn of the death of their whippet, Kerry.
The nine-year-old pet had been staying with their daughter Fiona Reeve, who lives next door to her parents, and had to be put down on the advice of a vet.
But Roger and Pam's misery was to deepen when they were told Toby had gone missing from Woodgrange Boarding Kennels, in Glinton, near Peterborough.
Tearful Pam of Aboyne Avenue, Orton Waterville, Peterborough, said: "Our son, Paul, and daughter, Fiona, met us at the airport and gave us the news about Kerry.
"Then Fiona said, 'We've got something else to tell you – Toby has got out of the kennel'. We couldn't believe it."
The owner of a dog staying at the kennels opened Toby's cage doors by accident last Wednesday, and the
terrier, who has distinctive long hair and a long tail, ran out of the site.
Pam (67) said: "Our son and daughter searched long and hard for him, until they came to meet us at the airport."
Roger (68) said: "We must have driven about 100 miles over the course of the weekend looking for Toby in Peterborough and the surrounding area.
"Paul rode about 25 miles on his bike searching for him. Our grandson was even taken out of school on Friday to help."
However their luck changed at 3pm yesterday, when after another day spent looking for Toby, their phone rang
minutes after the couple arrived home.
Pam said: "We had not been in the house five minutes when Roger picked up the phone.
"This woman had found Toby in the Werrington Centre and called the number on his collar.
"Roger broke down with relief, so my daughter took all the details.
"We brought him home and he has been running around like he has never been away."
The return of Toby is also good news for the couple's third dog, Hannah, a miniature schnauzer, who had been devastated to lose both her best friends.
Pam said: "She did nothing but mope around while Toby was away. She obviously missed him and Kerry very much."
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Light sleet
Temperature: -5 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
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