Pet-owner finds her puppy

When Remi first went missing on 28 April, Grigoratos phoned the Lonehill vet and gave them a description of her dog. She also told them that Remi was not wearing a collar and was not micro-chipped.

By the next day, Grigoratos was really starting to lose hope as Remi had been without food or water for 24 hours. “I just felt so heart-broken and helpless,” she said.

At 2.15 pm that day she received a call from the vet to say that someone had dropped Remi off. The vet said the kind people who dropped her off had placed a beaded collar around her neck and that Remi was perfectly fine.

Grigoratos said she was extremely grateful to the kind lady who found Remi and kept her safe.

“Just the thought of my little piggie being all the way on the other side of the busy intersection of William Nicol Drive and Uranium Road was just absolutely frightening,” Grigoratos said.

Amanda Pybus, practice manager of Fourways Veterinary Hospital said all pets should have some form of identification to help re-unite them with their owners if they go missing. “A micro-chip is the best option as it is permanent and cannot be removed,” she said. She suggested that additionally owners could put a collar with an identification disk on their pets.

Pybus said when a pet had gone missing it was best to put up notices with a picture of the pet throughout the suburb, and offer a reward. “Some animals are stolen and returned if there is a reward offered,” she said. “Additionally all the local vets should be contacted and regularly called to see if a stray matching your pet’s description has been brought in.”

She also suggested that owners of lost pets should visit neighbours as pet cats often get trapped in garages and rooms. “Local security firms can also be contacted so that the patrol vehicles in the area can be on the lookout,” she said.

Pybus added that using social media such as Twitter and Facebook was a great way to inform people of your lost pet.