Family in Cork shared joy of getting back their stolen dog

The family in Co Cork is excited and happy to be reunited with their stolen dog. Bernard and Liz Ahern, from Midleton, lost their beloved pet Ruby, but found last month and received an early Christmas present.

Ruby was stolen from her kennel in June last year. The family reported the theft to local gardaí in Midleton. They shared an appeal via the Garda Southern Region Facebook page and were viewed by almost 100,000 people.

Ruby was spotted by a woman in England for sale on a website after seeing this post and was able to get her home safely last month with the help of Somerset Police. After discovering Ruby, she was brought to Midleton about 500km away via Rosslare.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Ruby back home. We are so grateful to the lady who spotted Ruby for sale, the Somerset Police, and our gardaí here in Midleton,” the family said.

Gardaí have said that Ruby’s microchip was removed after she was stolen and when found she was in poor health.

Adrian Gamble, Superintendent of the Midleton District, thanked everyone who helped bring Ruby home. The Superintendent also urged pet owners to take extra safety measures.

“We are delighted to have been a part of Ruby’s safe return to her loving family and appeal to all pet owners to take all extra security precautions and ensure their pets are microchipped.

“I especially wish to thank everyone for sharing the social media appeal to help find Ruby, and the lady in the UK who spotted Ruby for sale – these people are the real heroes of the investigation.

“The services of our Crime Prevention Officers and Community Garda are freely available upon request through any Garda Station across the country. We are ever present in our communities to keep people safe and offer crime prevention advice,” he said.

The investigation into Ruby’s theft is still actively underway.