Little boy's stolen dog comes home to his family after seven years

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/stolen-dog-comes-home-after-seven-years-20140315-34tln.html wrote:A little Perth boy has been reunited with his dog seven years after the collie was stolen.

Kai Cummings was just a baby when his family bought Sam, the border collie, but Sam was only around for a short time before he disappeared.

Kai's dad Simon, a Victoria Park physiologist, said: "We live beside a park and Sam was in the park for his constitutional when he disappeared. I am fairly sure he was stolen."

Simon's wife Nikki spent a lot of time putting up posters asking for information about Sam - but the family heard nothing.

But recently Nikki got a phone call from the Wish Animal Rescue group who told her a dog had been surrendered to them and a scan had shown a microchip which proved that the dog belonged to the Cummings family.

"The phone call was like a bolt out of the blue," Mr Cummings said.

But Sam was in a bad way and the vets had to do a lot of work before he could be given back to the Cummings.

"When I went to pick him up he was completely shaved," Mr Cummings said.

"He had a big flea infection down his back and his back legs. He had a surgical drain in his cheek draining an abscess - the infection caused by a grass seed working its way into his skin. He'd had more than three hours of surgery."

Mr Cummings said Sam was a bit distrustful of his new surroundings to begin with - but has quickly become one of the family again.

The family suspects he was stolen and kept in a "puppy factory" for all the years that he was missing.

"He's obviously very happy to back with us now," Mr Cummings said.

"He loves life now, loves it when we taken him to South Beach in Fremantle. He loves swimming and chasing the ball and he loves having play fights with our other dog Billy."

And Kai is delighted to have his first dog back home again.