Dog missing for almost two years miraculously found 300km away from home
A Queensland man is “over the moon” after learning his dog, who was lost for almost two years, has finally been found alive and well.
Jake Hennessy was left devastated days after Christmas in 2017 to find his home in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, broken into and his “puppy” believed to be stolen.
He sparked a search for the mastiff cross shar-pei named Harley, posting to a local lost and found pet Facebook group to “please help return my baby to me”.
Nineteen months later, Harley was spotted roaming the streets and scavenging food in the remote town of Leonora - more than 280km from where he went missing.
Remarkably, it would have taken a car more than three hours to drive the distance.
After receiving reports of the dog scavenging near a local motor inn, a volunteer picked him up and bought him to Kalgoorlie.
“He wasn’t in great shape when we found him,” Abby Kumar Buccilli from Kalgoorlie Dog Adoptions told Yahoo News Australia.
Harley had an injured leg, which has since been treated by a vet.
Ms Kumar Buccilli said about 90 per cent of the dogs that enter her care were not microchipped, but thankfully for Mr Hennessy, Harley was. So the vet notified the dog’s owner right away.
“It’s amazing... He was over the moon. He though he’d won the lotto jackpot,” Ms Kumar Buccilli said.
The much missed pet is now recovering, ahead of his reunion with his human dad who has since moved to Brisbane, planned for next week.
The good news has warmed the hearts of pet lovers across states.
“This has made my day, brought a little tear to my eyes welcome home Harley,” one person wrote on the Kalgoorlie Dog Adoptions Facebook page after it announced the rescue on Thursday.
Another wrote: “So happy for the owner he must be stoked”.
“That has absolutely made my day... I can't imagine how elated Harley's owner must be. Best news ever,” a third added.
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