Written by Lesley Gaigher, SPCA Louis Trichardt
Photography by Alicia Thomas, SPCA Louis Trichardt
We received a scruffy little Maltese boy as a stray late in November 2018. Little did we know then that he’d gone missing from his home just one week shy of a full year ago.
At the time, our perception of his condition was that he’d either been living on the streets for a long time, or whoever owned him didn’t care for him much. He went straight from the kennels to the local dog salon for a proper wash and cut. And he came out looking like a million dollars! We named him Malcolm.
We waited out the required five-day pound period before we started to advertise him on our Facebook page in order to find him a family. He was with us for a while before Cornette van Greune came to see for herself if the dog in the picture she’d just seen was in fact her long-lost Wollie, and indeed it was!
Cornette was happy to go through the entire adoption process to have her boy back.
Everyone will be glad to know that he’s now neutered and microchipped, so the chances of him roaming around again have been reduced. AND, heaven forbid, if he did get out again, he’d be identifiable.
Cornette, thank you for not giving up on your boy. Thirteen months is a long time to hang on to hope, but yours never faded!
We’ve since heard that there’s no doubt that our Malcolm is definitely their WOLLIE. He was at home straight away and hasn’t changed a bit. More than a year later, the family is finally whole again!
PS: Pet parents – please take note! Always go and complete a Lost and Found form at the SPCA so that you can be informed in case your missing animal is taken in. Spare yourselves the heartache and them the time spent in a kennel!
Cornette van Greune shares…
Wollie is a fun and loving dog. He loves to play with his rope toy, teddies and tennis balls, but most of all he loves to play with the children. Wollie is my eldest son, Jordan’s, best friend. They do everything together!
In November 2017 the unthinkable happened. Wollie went missing, and it was literally as if someone in our family had passed away!
Wollie had disappeared into thin air, and as soon as we realised he wasn’t home, the search began. I phoned as many people as possible, posted on Facebook, and drove around for days in search of him. As time passed, I knew that Wollie had been taken by someone. He was well-groomed and well looked after, and his friendly nature would be attractive to anyone. I could only pray that whoever took him would look after him well. It still didn’t stop me from looking for him every single day for 13 months every time I drove around.
On the 3rd of January 2019, my mother sent me a picture posted to Facebook by the SPCA. I immediately drove there and identified Wollie. When I held him in my arms and looked into his eyes I just knew that it was him! I went through the adoption process and am very thankful to the SPCA for looking after Wollie. I was very upset when they told me that Wollie was not well looked after and that he was reported roaming the streets a lot.
I still can’t believe that we’ve been reunited! My family is whole again – my son is whole again! Wollie is back and he’s still the same – loves his rope and he still sleeps on his back and snores away!
Thank you to everyone at the SPCA who looked after Wollie. I’ll never forget it and the great work that you’re doing! Thank you!
