Monday, May 31, 2010

Harry, Airedale Terrier

Herald Sun hurries Harry’s family reunion
The Lost Dogs Home
Posted 24 Feb 2010

No sooner had the Evans family of Niddrie put their feet up to take in the arrival of the New Year, did they realise that their beloved eight-year-old Airedale Terrier, Harry, was missing.

Harry resting at the Evan's family home

“Much to our dismay, we discovered in the early morning that Harry was gone - a first - as he has never disappeared before,” said Brad.

Brad suspected that sudden weather changes and loud New Year celebrations were a catalyst in Harry’s out of character behaviour. “We think that Harry got spooked from the dramatic storms and fireworks that went off yesterday.”

With no leads to follow even after knocking on neighbours’ doors, all the Evans family could do was comfort their distraught son, who was especially attached to Harry.

Having had Harry microchipped and registered to the National Pet Register, they decided to cover all bases by posting a message on the Lost and Found Pets section on The Lost Dogs' Home website.

Starting with a simple three-worded plea, “Please help us”, the Evans was fully unaware that their plea will shortly be heard by a complete stranger in Delahey.

As a professional working in an online advertising company, good Samaritan Alex usually starts her day reading headlines online. This day was no different except for the sheer coincidence of Alex seeing a lost Airedale Terrier on the Herald Sun website and then coming across the message that the Evans had posted on the Lost and Found page on The Lost Dogs' Home’s website.

“Remembering that I had seen an Airedale Terrier on heraldsun.com, I thought that it was highly likely that it was (the Evans’) little boy. I didn’t have anything to lose so I contacted the family online through their post and also followed this up with an SMS. I was convinced that this dog was Harry and wanted to alert the Evans immediately,” Alex recalls.

“We received a text message from a person who had read our post on The Lost Dogs' Home website, notifying us of an Airedale Terrier that was on the Herald Sun website. We looked it up and thankfully, it was Harry,” Brad Evans said with relief.

Harry with one of his favourite toys

Being an animal lover, Alex knows how much Harry meant to the Evans. “I know how I would feel if it were one of my animals missing and I hope that someone would return the favour if ever I were in the same situation”.

Without haste, Brad picked Harry up from the North Melbourne shelter, realising how lucky they were to be reunited back with Harry so soon. “When we picked Harry up, he was in good condition, and was very excited and happy. Our two-year-old son can finally sleep knowing that his best mate is safe”.

Not forgetting to thank Alex, Brad sent her a heart-warming SMS that made it all worthwhile for Alex. “The Evans seemed ecstatic that their boy had been found safely. I think their message was something along the lines of making their year!”

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