Man and best friend reunited
Published: September 14, 2005
IT was a moment dog owner Jonathan Henderson feared he would never see.
After his beloved English setter, Lewis, was stolen from the garden of his Ravelston home, the 31-year-old banker feared the worst.
The thieves seemed certain to keep or sell the pedigree dog, or abandon it to fend for itself.
But the delighted owner and his dog have now been reunited thanks to an appeal in the Evening News.
Lewis was found, slightly bedraggled, but unhurt, wandering the path along the canal, about four miles from where he was stolen.
The teenager who found him took Lewis to Wester Hailes police station after reading about Jonathan’s plight and realising he had found the missing pet.
It is thought the thieves abandoned Lewis after having second thoughts about what they could do with the dog.
Today, a delighted Jonathan said: “When the police called they said the dog fitted the description, and since Lewis is very distinctive I was fairly sure it was him.
“He was being kept in the back office at the station and when he saw me he leapt on to the counter and started wagging his tail and barking and I knew it had to be him.
“I was just so delighted to see him safe and well and be able to pet him again.”
Lewis was missing for 48 hours after being stolen from a locked car parked in the garage at Jonathan’s home. The windows and sunroof had been left open to give him fresh air.
The banker had called the police after returning home to find Lewis had been taken from the makeshift kennel last Thursday. The dog’s collar and lead were also missing.
Lewis was found wandering the footpath of the canal bank at Wester Hailes on Saturday by a 19-year-old who took him home. The teenager had no idea he had been stolen until he got home and saw the dog’s photograph in the newspaper.
Jonathan said: “It was always at the back of my mind that he could easily be hit by a car and be killed, so it was a pretty fraught 48 hours.
“The person who picked up Lewis didn’t have any idea he had been stolen until they saw it in the paper and then they took him straight to the police station.
“His collar and lead are still missing and he was a little shaken up but otherwise he seems fine.
“He had a few thorns in his fur and appeared to have been wandering for quite a while. After a bath and a brush, though, he was back to his old self. I’ve had him checked over by a vet as well and he is in good health.
“I am really pleased and I will be arranging a reward for the person who brought Lewis in. I don’t know how he got out there, but it seems as if someone must have taken him and abandoned him.
“It might have been kids, as he is quite a big dog and maybe they took him then realised they couldn’t handle him and let him go.”
Jonathan said he was now thinking of moving house so he could give Lewis more space in which to play.
He said: “I was looking to move anyway but now I am a bit more aware that maybe I need to think a bit more about security for Lewis. I also want to get somewhere with a big garden for him to play in.”
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “We are delighted that Lewis has been reunited with his owner. Thanks to the appeal published in the Evening News the member of the public who had found Lewis realised he had been stolen and quickly handed him in to Wester Hailes police station.”
The Scottish SPCA, which had also appealed for information about Lewis, also praised the teenager who brought him home.
A spokeswoman said: “Its fantastic news and we would like to give a big thank-you to the members of the public who kept their eyes open and helped get Lewis back home.”
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