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Missing Dog Found After 9 Years

By KRISTEN GELINEAU
,
AP
posted: 1 DAY 7 HOURS AGO
comments: 130
filed under: Good News
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SYDNEY (July 30) - Nine years after vanishing from outside her Australian family's home, Muffy the dog was found alive and well this month in another backyard — 1,200 miles away — officials said Thursday.
Inspectors with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were investigating a possible animal cruelty case at a home in the southern city of Melbourne two weeks ago when they found the fluffy white mutt sleeping outside on a scrap of cardboard, Victoria state RSPCA spokesman Tim Pilgrim said.
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A microchip in Muffy's neck identified her owners, and, after a few days of searching for a current phone number, officials tracked down Natalie Lampard, who hadn't seen Muffy since the pooch disappeared from her backyard in the eastern city of Brisbane nine years ago.
"When the RSPCA described her, I told them her name; I knew immediately it was our Muffy," Lampard said. "It was totally out of the blue — after nine years, I thought she was long gone."
The owners of the Melbourne house where Muffy was discovered said they found the dog about a year ago wandering along a street, Pilgrim said. But where had Muffy spent the previous eight years? And how did she get all the way to Melbourne — about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) from Brisbane?
"Nobody knows," Pilgrim said. "The mystery continues for old Muffy."
Muffy was suffering from a severe allergic reaction to fleas and has been under treatment since the RSPCA removed her from the Melbourne home, Pilgrim said. The dog, which the Lampards originally adopted from an RSPCA shelter near Brisbane, is recovering well and should be in good enough shape to fly back home on Tuesday, Pilgrim said.
Lampard got Muffy as a gift for her now 17-year-old daughter Chloe, and the two had been inseparable, Lampard said.
"After the RSPCA called, I rang my daughter and asked her if she was sitting down, then told her they'd found Muffy," Lampard said. "She's over the moon and there'll be a few tears shed when they see each other again. But just how she got down to Melbourne I guess is a mystery that will never be answered."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-07-30 08:37:01
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Iselin 007

05:00 AMJul 31 2009

It gets worse the natives in the outback eat pets!

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Iselin 007

04:57 AMJul 31 2009

Owners of the house where she was found should of taken the animal to the Vet where the dog might of been checked for the chip a long time ago!

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Lucky1128f

10:15 PMJul 31 2009

thank god muffy will soon be home, i know the family must be so excited and god bless them all. i love animals----i do not like what micheal vick did. and he should never be back in the nfl again.

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PnCdogMorris

09:38 PMJul 31 2009

Did anybody bring popcorn?

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AlrAC45

09:21 PMJul 31 2009

God made that possible. What a happy reunion to behold! My dog got out of the gate in 1999 in Baltimore, MD. during a snow storm that preceeded an ice storm. Her collar was in the house with all of her identifying information. I usually kept it on her and cannot think of the reason I took it off of her that day. I guess I didn't think it was needed in the blizzard that was predicted. She was an indoor dog. My partner did not place the padlock properly on the fence, which left a little slack. Enough for her to squeeze out of the gate. I looked for her desperately at the Shelters in Baltimore City for 2 years: At least 4-5 times per week on my lunch breaks. I pray that someone found her and gave her a loving home. Though I have two dogs now, If by some miracle she was to come back in my life, she would be very much welcomed back in my home . She was my 4 legged child ( a Sheppard mixed dog with ears that tipped and very timid). God Blessed you with your dog back. My pure bred dogs...

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Lovemy69vet

09:16 PMJul 31 2009

Yeah, Muffy is one of Michael Vick's Bad News Kennel's snack food that they misplaced. Thank God Muffy snuck under the fence and hid, rather than be food for the fighting dogs, which ended up drowned, electrocuted, kicked, shot and clubbed all while Vick smiled and laughed about it. Please, I hope the owners don't let this cute little dog anywhere near Vick and his killa hencemen, as I'm so glad Muffy made it.

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SunsetLimited

08:45 PMJul 31 2009

I think the dog was napped by Space Invaders, brainwashed and brought back to help the Space Invaders conquer the Earth.

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(1)

PBCivitan

08:37 PMJul 31 2009

Did they question the National Football League Superstar Michael Vick of his where abouts when the dog disappeared? As a dog lover, My last NFL gave will be the day Mr. Vick puts on an NFL Uniform. And if I find out you sell your products or services with advertisements during NFL games, I won't buy your product, ever again.

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HondaQT96

08:31 PMJul 31 2009

Disgusting what amuses people.

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(2)

SSHAYNADOG

08:28 PMJul 31 2009

How WONDERFUL to read a HEART WARMING STORY ABOUT A DOG after the horrific stories we read about Michael Vick and others who purposely abuse animals. Don't you wish Muffy could talk---what an exciting adventure this precious one must have to tell. LOVE YOU OCEANS, MUFFY!!! XOX

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An Australian family\'s pet is found alive in another backyard 1,200 miles away.
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