Amy, Boxer

Family drives 5,000 miles to find lost dog--
By Chris Brooke
10/8/98

WHEN Jennifer Kirkwood's beloved boxer dog was stolen she was determined to move heaven and earth to find her again.

Now, two months later, the mother of two has been reunited with her pet Amy after an exhaustive 5,000-mile search costing around $2,000.

A delighted Mrs Kirkwood said: 'We are so pleased to have her back. You can't believe how relieved we are - we have loved her since she was a puppy.'

The hunt began in August when Amy was taken from outside a shop. Police found that a teenage girl had been seen with the dog but had no other clues.

While others gave up hope that the pet could ever be traced, 53-year-old Mrs Kirkwood set out to track her down.

She and her family spent every spare hour driving along lanes and roads within a 20-mile radius of their home in Hessle, East Yorkshire. Mrs Kirkwood clocked up 2,100 miles, while her children Frazer, 23, and Dominique, 31, each travelled around 1,500 miles. Husband Michael, 60, was away at sea much of the time but helped out when he was around.

Come rain or shine Mrs Kirkwood would walk miles on foot, searching alleys, fields and buildings. She printed hundreds of posters offering a $100 reward and at one time took a week off work to concentrate on the investigation. The pet detective also wrote to 360 vets and animal hospital across the country in case Amy had been handed in. Then, last Saturday, all the hard work paid off, when Mrs Kirkwood received a phone call from someone who had spotted five-year-old Amy at a campsite at a local village.

'We had lots of reports from around the area she was found that a small boxer dog was running around,' she said.

'We travelled out there almost every day to look but we must have missed her. It went very quiet for a while but then we had a call from a man in a phone box near Skirlington who said a boxer dog had been around there and someone had managed to tempt her into a caravan with some food.

'When she went to meet her she was so excited. Amy's only just getting back to normal now - it looks as though whoever had her was keeping her tied up outside. I can't believe anyone would want to do that to a dog.

'My advice to anyone else who loses their dog is to never give up. The police can only go so far and you have to turn pet detective if you want to get your dog back.'

Source: http://www.animalworldnetwork.com/bfamdriv50mi.html