The couple learnt how valuable microchipping a pet is, not once, but unfortunately twice.
Polar the striking white Husky was returned to the family of five last month, a staggering two years after the then puppy escaped the couple’s backyard and was never to be seen again.
“We spent days driving through town, walking the streets, through the bush, checking everywhere possible,” Ms Webb said.
“But he was just nowhere to be seen and because he is a running breed it was like looking for a needle in a haystack,” she said.
The couple said they were heartbroken for a long time by the loss but had a young child to care for and had to move on with their lives.
Little did they know Polar was doing the same.
During the two years he was missing it’s believed Polar had numerous different owners and even started a family himself.
Recently a person informed the couple that they had met Polar when they picked up one of his puppies from one of his temporary owners’ houses.
The couple also recently stumbled across an old Facebook post from a different temporary owner, which revealed Polar had escaped their house as well.
But luckily that escape led Polar to be picked up by what Ms Webb calls an “angel” who sent Polar where all lost dogs should go: the pound.
“When we got the call from the pound and they said, ‘we’ve got your dog’ we said what dog because we just couldn’t believe it could be Polar,” Ms Webb said.
“It was honestly so surreal.
“When you give up hope you honestly don’t think you are going to see them again and it’s just heartbreaking.
“He hadn’t been brushed and was a bit skinny.
“He needed a good bath and trim,” she said.
But the reunion was short lived and within days Polar did what he does best and escaped the couple's yard when a neighbour was fixing their fence.
Luckily this time the couple only had to wait two days to get Polar back.
“We were so lucky someone returned him to the pound again and once again we got him back,” she said.
“He’s a bit of an escape artist,” she said.
While Polar was missing in action the couple added two new additions to their family which Polar had to be introduced to.
Ms Webb said Polar was already protective of their three young children and barked when they weren’t near.
“We would have much rathered have raised him ourselves over the past few years but he is still the perfect dog for our family and that’s always what he was meant to be,” Ms Webb said.
“I cook him home-made dog food and now he rejects anything that’s in a tin,” she said.
Having been in the care of at least three owners in just two years you could forgive Polar for not knowing his real name.
“He doesn’t seem to respond to anything we’ve tried,” Ms Webb said.
“We’ve tried thinking of what someone would call a dog like this.
“We've tried a whole list of names like Snow and names like that, but he doesn’t respond to much yet,” she said.
The couple are now urging other pet owners to ensure their pets are microchipped and details are kept up to date so they too can get their fairytale ending if their animal also goes missing.
“You don’t think you are going to see them, but this just shows the importance of microchipping because two years later he’s come back to us,” Ms Webb said.
“If he wasn’t microchipped, I believe we would never have seen him again.
“Microchipping is one of the most important things when you get an animal.
“If you want to see an animal again when it gets lost, then your best bet would be to microchip them and make sure you put a secure name tag on them,” she said.
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