Man’s Best Friend Lost — And Found After Two Years
Lost dog mystery ends with Christmas reunion
Retired Ballina horse trainer Steven Phelps has received an early Christmas gift – reunited with his beloved black Labrador, Arty, who is back home safely, two years after he vanished.
Steven bought Arty in Casino in 2017 for $800 and the friendly dog returned to his new home of Ballina, soon becoming a familiar face around the racecourse.
“He was everyone’s friend,” Steven said.
“He used to go up to Racecourse Road and to the shop, but one day he just never came home.”
Locals sprang into action to help spread the word the popular pet was missing.
Katie, the publican at the Henry Rous Hotel helped out by posting missing dog notices on Facebook.
Arty is top dog back home with Steven and the household of five retired racehorses and two cats
Locals helped spread the word. Katie, the publican at the Henry Rous Hotel, posted missing dog notices on Facebook.
Residents kept an eye out, but there were no confirmed sightings.
“Someone reckons they saw him being put into a car, but we’ve never seen him since,” Steven said.
Then, last week came an unexpected phone call.
“I get a missed call at a Christmas party, but I didn’t know until I got home that the rangers had left a note in my letterbox and said they’d found Arty.”
Last Monday, Steven headed to the pound in Lismore.
“When he saw me, he nearly knocked me over,” he said.
“Now he’s home even the cats like him and the horses know him and at night he sleeps close by me.”
Arty is fit and well fed. Where he has been for the past two years remains a mystery.
Thanks to micro-chipping, this dog-gone story now has a happy ending back home in Ballina for Christmas.
