AN ISLAND family have been re-united with their pet dog they feared they would never see again, thanks to an eagle-eyed RSPCA worker.
Andy Rayner was forced to let Jerry Lee, his Akita-cross-German Shepherd dog, leave the home in East Cowes because it was affecting the health of his gravely ill wife.
It proved a particularly stressful time, and the situation became even worse for Mr. Rayner, his step-daughter Tamara Rush and her husband Peter, a few months later when Mrs. Rayner sadly passed away.
Eventually the distraught family decided to try to find Jerry Lee, but discovered the dog had moved to several different owners over the past six months, and all their efforts to track it down were proving in vain. Eventually they placed an advertisement on an Island website, with a picture of Jerry Lee, hoping someone would be able to provide information.
Thankfully for the family, the advert was spotted by Conny Boon, the Centre Manager of the RSPCA in Merstone Lane, Godshill.
Conny’s deputy at the Centre, Tansyn Flint, takes up the story. She said: “We had this dog brought to us in October, and then just a couple of weeks ago Conny was looking through ‘Wightbay’ when she saw the advert saying a family were looking for their dog that they had had re-homed, but would now like it back.
“The advert said the dog was called Jerry Lee, and although the one brought into us looked identical we had been told its name was Bobby. We printed off the picture, and realised it might be him, so I went to the kennels and called out ‘Come on Jerry Lee’ and he immediately stopped barking, and looked a lot happier.
“We contacted the number on the advert, and emphasised there were no guarantees, but said we might have the dog they were trying to find.”
At the time Tamara and Peter were on holiday on the mainland, but on their return to the Island they rushed to the RSPCA Centre – and to their delight it was Jerry Lee!
Tamara said: “When I received the call from the RSPCA I couldn’t believe it. We were on holiday, but I could hardly wait to get back. We were told it was a bit of a long shot, but we were just hoping it was him. When we went to see if it was Jerry Lee, he came bounding over to me, and put his paws on my shoulders. I was so thrilled I just couldn’t stop crying.”
All this time Mr. Rayner did not know that Tamara and Peter were on the scent of Jerry Lee. Tamara continued: “The RSPCA soon realised it was our dog, and kindly let us take him away. So we turned up outside my step-dad’s house and Peter went inside and asked him if he could give us a hand taking a Christmas present out of the car.
“When he came out and saw Jerry Lee, he just stood there shaking and crying with joy. I had not seen him that happy in a long time.”
Maybe the moral of this story is that a dog isn’t just for Christmas – it really is for life!