Kentish Express Ashford & District
Missing dog back with owner after three years
A dog described as a “little miracle” has been reunited with its delighted owner – nearly three years after going missing.
Staffordshire bull terrier Dolce was just a puppy on Mother’s Day 2013, when she jumped out the back of a car in Lyminge and ran off, leaving her owner Victoria Hilden heartbroken.
But almost three years down the line, mother-of-one Victoria, now 27, says she felt her legs buckle when she received a phone call from Ashford Borough Council’s dog warden claiming they had found Dolce.
She said: “The day she went missing, a friend was looking after her and when the boot was opened in Lyminge, she jumped out and ran off.
“We looked everywhere, speaking to everyone, going in the pubs and asking everyone, but there was nothing.”
Victoria and her family went back the next day and plastered the village with posters, as well as making the police, council and dog wardens aware.
Months went by with no word and Victoria, who lives in Upchurch, began losing hope, until she received a call from Ashford’s dog warden.
She added: “I was just sitting at home watching the television when the phone rang and someone said they were from the council and had my dog.
“I stood up and my legs buck- led from underneath me. I was shaking, crying, my heart was going and I was pacing up and down.”
Dolce was returned to Victoria, while the family she had been sold to kept one of her puppies.
Victoria added: “She recognised me straight away. She was jumping up, kissing my face. It’s like she hasn’t changed at all.
“I want to let other people know who have missing dogs that there is always hope.
“Don’t ever give up hope. I knew she was going to come back … I just didn’t realise it would take this long.”