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‘Lilly' the Jack Russell is back home after her five-year ordeal

September 15th, 2016 5:05 PM

By Jackie Keogh

The Harrington family from Ballinspittle, nieces and nephews of James O'Regan, with Lilly, who is finally back home.

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A Jack Russell terrier that had been stolen and used illegally for breeding has been returned to her owner in Kinsale – five years after she went missing.

A JACK Russell terrier that had been stolen and used illegally for breeding has been returned to her owner in Kinsale – five years after she went missing.

Lilly looked ‘old and sorry for herself’ when she wandered in to the garden of Linda Ryan in Doneraile on August 15th last, according to Margaret O’Rourke, who helped with Lilly’s rehabilitation.

‘She looked like she’d had several litters,’ said Margaret, who got in touch with the West Cork Animal Rescue service,  an organisation that was willing to take the terrier if she wasn’t micro-chipped.

But a vet in Bandon confirmed that the dog – which had been stolen as a pup in 2011 before the owner had time to have her spayed – was chipped. 

The vet then discovered that the owner was James O’Regan from Kinsale. On a recent Thursday in August, a thrilled James was united with his beloved Lilly.

James turned up with a lot of his nieces and nephews in tow and they were all delighted to see her. But not as much as James because, as Margaret said: ‘He never expected to see his little dog again.’

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