One of the things that has added to my worries during this corona virus pandemic is the rise of dog thefts. Apparently the sales of dogs in the last year have tripled and two out of five of these purchases have been puppies. As demand has completely outstripped supply, prices have soared too and the most popular breeds can sell for £3000 and sometimes up to £5000. This has all led to a really worrying rise in the theft of dogs. It has left me too nervous to walk the dogs on my own in many places. Only 1 in 100 of these poor dogs are ever recovered. It must be terrible to lose a loved pet in this way but I can imagine in a small way as it has reminded me of something my Mum used to tell us.
When she was young Mum had a Yorkshire Terrier called Molly. She could barely remember a time in her childhood without her. Living in a very quiet area and in days with much less traffic in the 1930s, Molly would sit in the front garden and occasionally wander on to the green opposite their house but never stray further.. She knew the times of the buses arriving across the road and would always get up onto the chair five minutes before it arrived to look out and see if any of her family were getting off the bus. My Mum had so many funny little stories about Molly she clearly really had loved her. Sadly though there was not a happy ending. When Mum was in her late teens and Molly was fifteen she disappeared. She had been sitting out in the sun in the front garden as usual and when they went to look for her she wasn't there. They searched and searched around the area but she was no where to be seen. She said for weeks she and my Grandad cycled all around the lanes near their house calling and searching in hedges and ditches. Sadly Molly was never found and they never knew what had happened although they thought as she had never wandered off before it was more than likely she had been stolen.
All her life Mum would tell stories about Molly and make us laugh. How she tried to bury the family tortoise or how she would sulk and face the wall if they went to Southport for the day but even 70 years later there was a sadness in her voice if she spoke of how she disappeared. The people who steal dogs could not imagine how many years people will feel sad about their loss.
After Mum died at 92 we found this card in her belongings she had kept all her life. Molly must have been such a special little dog.
 |
