Hillary residents reunite beloved pooch with owner

A BELOVED 10-year-old pooch has been reunited with his owners after he bolted during a recent thunderstorm in Hillary.

Vernon Harripersadh said his dog, Frodo, jumped over their boundary wall and ran into the green belt surrounding their home and was missing for five days.

At the heart of this story is that of the community as fellow residents from the Huntley Neighbourhood Watch assisted in the search for Frodo.

He was eventually found down near a riverbed near the M7 highway by the Barnard family, Quinton Snr and his sons, Quinton Jnr and Willem.

Harripersadh said he was struck by the selfless act from his fellow neighbours.

“I’ve never met Quinton or his sons before, but it just goes to show how community works. On the night of the storm, it was about 01:00 in the morning, and we went out in the yard and realised he’d jumped over the wall. We called out for him and began searching, but sadly, we couldn’t find him. The next morning, we continued our search, and I put out a message on the Huntley Neighbourhood Watch WhatsApp group.

“There were a few sightings of a dog, but it was never Frodo. As the days dragged on, we began to lose hope until I got a message from the group saying that a dog had been spotted near the river about a kilometre away from where we lived. I messaged Thora Hubl who lives in the area to ask if anyone could assist, and Quinton and his sons managed to make their way down to him to save him,” he said.

Harripersadh said he named his pooch Frodo because he had an adventurous spirit and was courageous, much like the Hobbit character in the Lord of the Rings books.

“We were so excited when we got home, and it was quite an emotional reunion because we’ve had him since he was a puppy. We took him to the vet, and thankfully, he didn’t sustain any major injuries but just had a graze to his eye,” he said.

Quinton Barnard Jnr explained how the rescue unfolded.

“Our deck overlooks the riverbed, and we saw a shape near a sewerage pipe down by the water. My brother and I often walk through the bushes and along the riverbed, so we were familiar with the terrain. When we found Frodo, he was understandably scared, and we brought some food with us to show we weren’t there to harm him. He had actually made a little bed for himself by dragging a few branches and sticks and was lying against it. My brother, Willem, carried him up from the riverbed, and we were just so happy to bring him home to his family,” the youngster said.

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