Couple reunited with missing dog after seven years

A couple have been reunited with their dog seven years after it went missing.

Wioleta Owczarek and her partner Mateusz Walkiewicz’s Jackadoodle Lola and Parsons Jack Russell Maya were stolen by a pet sitter in Aylesford, Kent in 2018.

The pair moved from London to Leeds six months after the disappearance but Sevenoaks District Council’s Animal Welfare Team got in touch last week saying they had found Lola.

Ms Owczarek said: “I never lost hope, never. Not a day where I didn’t think about her.”

Lola was found in the street in Swanley and identified by her microchip which had been kept up-to-date.

The district council was able to track down Ms Owczarek and reunite her with Lola on Friday.

She said: “She jumped straight away into my arms and after that she jumped straight away into my partner’s arms – it was amazing.”

Lola’s coat was badly matted and she has skin problems and is quite frightened after her ordeal, Ms Owczarek says.

The couple believe Lola – who was just a puppy when she went missing – was used for breeding.

Ms Owczarek said: “It was like losing a child.”

In 2018, the couple were living in temporary accommodation so had to leave the dogs with a friend and later a pet sitter when they went missing.

She reported the disappearance to the police but the pet sitters denied all knowledge of the dogs.

While Lola was missing Ms Owczarek and Mr Walkiewicz bought a Shih Tzu and also named her Lola.

She said: “The old Lola which got found is Lola but the new Lola is Lolita.

“When I call Lola both of them come so it’s even easier.”

The couple’s other dog, Maya, is still missing.

Ms Owczarek said: “I will never lose hope.”

Sevenoaks District Council’s Irene Roy, said: “Wioleta never gave up hope of finding her furry friends.”