“Never in a million years did we think that we would get our babies back and here we are, three years after they were stolen.”
Thanks to a determined police officer and luck, two missing dogs were reunited with their family!
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (11 May, 2023)—In April 2020, Wandi Deyzel and her family went through one of the worst kinds of loss—the kind where hope lies at hand, but feels out of reach. However, thanks to a determined police officer and two strokes of luck, three years later their story would end as unexpectedly as it did happily.
Wandi’s dogs, Lola and Bash, were believed to have been stolen from their yard back in the earliest days of lockdown.
The search was on for Lola the grey Weimaraner and Bash the Border Collier, but lockdown restrictions were rife at the time making community searches far more difficult.
While most of the world longed for life before the pandemic, the feeling was even stronger for people like Wandi, missing her fur babies terribly.
Few would’ve thought that just under three long years later, Wandi would receive the news she’d thought would never come—Lola had been found.
An unnamed woman had spotted and brought a dog matching Lola’s description into the Summerstrand vet to check her microchip; she had found the dog on the beach. The check confirmed that her find was, in fact, Miss Lola, however, the mystery woman had left with the dog leaving no details behind.
According to Netwerk24, it turned out that the woman had gone back to the beach thinking Lola’s owner might still be looking for her there.
Soon, Lola was back in her bed at long last.
Suzette Ludeke, a police officer, was shared to be instrumental in reuniting the family, never giving up on leads and going above and beyond the call of duty throughout the whole ordeal.
Related Story
They say good things come in threes, and just three days later, Bash was found too.
“Never in a million years did we think that we would get our babies back and here we are, 3 years after they were stolen and we get them both back in the same week and in the week that they were stolen 3 years earlier.
“To Suzette Ludeke, you did all of this!!! You kept fighting and following leads and didn’t back down. You have such a special place in our hearts and we are so grateful for all that you have done.
To Suzette’s team and Alita Kruger, thank you for putting your lives at risk to return Bash and Lola. We are so grateful. To all the followers of this story, thank you for believing with us.”—Wandi Deyzel.
And, if you recognise Suzette’s name, this isn’t her first time going the extra mile for her community, beyond animal reunions. In 2018, she also raised funds for a petrol attendant after a customer drove away without paying.
by 