Springer Spaniel stolen from Kent home reunited with owner 18 months later

A dog has been reunited with her owner 18 months after she was stolen from her home in Smarden near Ashford.

Daisy the English Springer Spaniel was found by a member of the public 70 miles away in Berkshire.

Owner Francis Briley was left heartbroken when Daisy and three more of his gun dogs were taken in the summer of 2020.

Recalling the moment they were reunited, Francis said: "I wasn't sure it was going to be Daisy until I saw her and set my eyes on her.

"And then when I did, I just realised that it was her, and she felt the same I think.

"We had a bit of a moment, and a bit of a kiss, and a bit of a cuddle.

"I was a bit taken aback really."

Francis Briley, Daisy's owner

Daisy and the other three dogs were stolen from kennels outside Francis' home.

One of the dogs was found shortly afterwards, but Poppy and Jess remain missing.

Remembering the day the dogs were stolen, Francis Said: "I was absolutely gutted, distraught.

"I had those dogs with me everyday of the shooting season.

"They were part of my life, and to go down into the kennels and not see them there, it was horrible.

"It really was horrible."

Francis thought he would never see Daisy again after realising he had not registered her microchip details.

Francis said: "Daisy would have been about seven or eight weeks old and I had a fire, and I lost everything.

"My home burnt down, and Daisy's microchip paper work was in the fire. So, I lost it.

"And it just sort of went over my head that I'd never changed the microchip into my name.

"So, of course, when the dogs were stolen and I'm trying to register them to Dog Lost and give the microchip numbers, which I had for the other three, I didn't have Daisy's microchip.

"So I was very fortunate to even see her again."

They were reunited after Daisy was found by a member of the public in Bracknell earlier this month.

She took Daisy to her local vets who reported her as a stray. Daisy was then collected by the Public Protection Partnership animal warden team.

The lady who found her then went above and beyond by trawling through the Dogs Lost website until she found Daisy's rightful owner.

Francis said: "Thanks again to Sadie (member of the public) who did all the hard work looking at all these pictures on Dog Lost to find me, or to find Daisy.

"It was just fantastic."

Francis is now urging pet owners to make sure they have registered their pets microchips.

A call echoed by Kira, one of Public Protection Partnerships Animal Warden’s, who said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to reunite Daisy with her family, but they’re very lucky this happened.

"When a dog’s microchip isn’t registered it’s rare to be able to reunite dog with owner.

"We urge all dog owners to make sure your dog’s microchip details are registered and up to date on a DEFRA approved database."