Sammy the Spaniel who went missing from his home two and a half years ago has been reunited with his family by Torridge District Council staff. 

Sammy, a Springer Spaniel, was collected by Council

staff last week as a stray, but after a check up was found to have been

micro-chipped some time ago. All it took then was a simple phone call to his

owners, who were delighted to hear from the Council’s Environmental Protection

Team that Sammy had been found alive and well after all this time.

The family, who believe the dog had been stolen from

their home outside the Torridge area, were extremely happy to be reunited with their

loving pet who had been missing for so long. They said Sammy remembered his

home very well, especially his special step where he used to wait for his bowl

at dinner time!

David Morgan, Co-Manager of Torridge’s Environmental

Protection Team, said, “This is a perfect example of the benefits of

micro-chipping.  Name tags can become

detached or be discarded, but as the dog was micro-chipped and thankfully the

owner’s details had been kept up-to-date, a phone call was all it took to

reunite Sammy with the family”.

Torridge’s Environmental Protection Team offers a

micro-chipping service as part of its work to support responsible pet

ownership.  Anyone interested in having

their pet chipped should contact Carl Caswell, Animal Welfare Officer, on 01237

428810 or email carl.caswell@torridge.gov.uk.