The Jones family was rather bewildered when they found a dog in their back garden that wasn’t theirs. East Sheen resident -- Kristin Jones -- had just opened her back door to allow her labrador to come back inside from the garden when suddenly she was greeted by another canine around 7.30pm on Thursday. She called for her husband, both of them very confused as to how the medium-large dog managed to jump over the high fencing that surrounded their garden, and from where it came.
Fortunately, the dog had a tag attached to her collar with the phone number of her owner. Mrs. Jones sat with the dog, reassuring the shy and frightened pet, as she waited for a response to her call. The dog’s worried owner picked up and said that he would come round to the Jones’ residence in East Sheen to pick up his dog, Molly. Molly was quickly reunited with her owner, Andrew Kent, and taken home.
On arrival, Molly’s owner explained that the incident was not uncommon for his dog, with Molly having made appearances in various gardens around the neighbourhood over the past year. Escape and exploration acts like these by Molly have been largely due to her history as a stray mountain dog; the Kents found her whilst on holiday on the Greek Island, Zakynthos. She had been confined in a 2x2 foot concrete pen, starving to death. Having previously owned dogs, the family quickly fell in love with Molly and went out of their way to provide Molly with a new life. They transformed her from a starving mutt into a healthy pet, paying out of pocket for her safe transportation to the UK, and for necessities like food and injections.
Naturally, Molly is wild-natured and independent. These traits have contributed to the difficulty her owners have had in the training process. In fact, Richmond Park -- a royal park nearby both the Jones’ and Kents’ houses -- has been an especially exploration place for Molly. Mr. Kent explained, “Whenever she is taken off her leash, she has a tendency to run.”
In the huge expanse of trees and grass that is Richmond Park, her owners found it nearly impossible to find her whenever she ran off, having to call upon the park rangers to find their dog. Incidences like this occurred so frequently that Molly was temporarily banned from the park. Now, her owners have been forced to use a shock collar on Molly, meaning she can’t run past a 2.5-mile radius, and hopefully she will fully adjust to her new home.
By Emily Jones, Gumley House Convent School
