By Inderdeep Bains
18 January 2013
When her beloved puppy was stolen, Miriam Francome refused to give up hope that the two of them would one day be reunited.
But even she found it hard to believe when, eight years later, the dog was found wandering just a few miles from her home.
The former wife of champion jockey and racing pundit John Francome had spent months putting up posters, knocking on doors and dropping leaflets after Lhasa Apso-terrier crossbreed Tweed was stolen in 2005, even offering a £1,000 reward for the dog’s safe return.
Mrs Francome said: ‘She was born on my bed and had never been away from me. I was completely heartbroken at the time.
‘Although I never quite gave up hope of seeing her again, I could not believe it when I got the call saying she had been found. I just burst into tears.’
Tweed had been microchipped, so when she was found in Wantage, Oxfordshire last month – not far from Miss Francome’s home village near Hungerford, Berkshire – the council was able to trace her owner.
Despite being flea-ridden and filthy, the worst Tweed, who is now nine, appeared to have suffered was a bad haircut.
‘Thankfully it doesn’t look like she has been mistreated, she is not anxious or cowering, she seems happy and relaxed,’ said Mrs Francome. ‘She’s not been starved either and is eating well. She’s still as good-natured as I remember her to be and the vet has given her the all-clear.’
After she was informed Tweed had been found, Mrs Francome had to wait eight days to allow anyone who may have unwittingly bought the dog in the eight years she was missing to come forward.
The former model said: ‘It was amazing when I went to pick her up, I wanted to cuddle her but she smelt so bad and her hair was all matted. Whoever had her had cut all her lovely hair off.
‘She recognised me straight away and responded to her name. When I brought her home, she knew exactly where she was.’
Mrs Francome, who dated ex-racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks – now married to former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks – after separating from former jockey champion John in the early 1990s, had bred Tweed and her brother Harris from her pet Megan.
‘We think Tweed may have been used for breeding and her puppies sold for around £200 each.
‘I imagine that the last time whoever had her had tried to mate her, she didn’t conceive because of her age. And they had no more use for her and just dumped her,’ said Mrs Francome, who now works part time as a barmaid and dog-sitter.
‘It is strange to think that she was so close to me all these years but I just never knew it.’
Tweed is now settling back in at home after being reunited with her brother Harris and introduced to Mrs Francome’s five other dogs. She had been stolen during a spate of dog thefts in the area as she played with her brother outside Mrs Francome’s cottage on the morning of February 2, 2005.
- Tweed had been microchipped and was traced back to its owner
- Miriam Francome had spent months putting up posters, knocking on doors and dropping leaflets after dog was stolen in 2005
- Despite being flea-ridden and filthy, Tweed, now nine, is in good health
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