Dog disappearance on ferry ‘bizarre’

A BRITISH couple’s holiday was ruined this week when their pet dog disappeared on board a ferry travelling between Cork and Swansea.

Sheila and Brian Wilkes from Peterborough in England were so upset when their Jack Russell went missing that they took the next ferry home.

The couple had planned to visit friends in Clonakilty, Co Cork, with their pet, one of two dogs that disappeared from their kennels on board a Swansea Cork Ferries vessel on Tuesday.

Ms Wilkes said they were too upset to continue with their two-week holiday after their dog called Spot, a rescued animal from Ireland adopted by the couple nine months ago, disappeared.

“We were ever so fond of the dog which had no value at all. To us it was priceless,” she said. “Because the two dogs went missing we have to assume they were either stolen or thrown overboard.”

Ms Wilkes said their dog, which was about eight years old and had a distinctive patch over one eye, had been found wandering on deck on Tuesday night by a shop steward who returned him to the kennels that were bolted but not locked.

When the couple went to collect their dog early on Wednesday morning they discovered that both animals had vanished.

A spokesperson for Swansea Cork Ferries said that it was the first time that dogs had gone missing and described the incident as “quite bizarre”.

Asked why the kennels were not padlocked, the spokesperson said they had been removed because a lot of dog owners did not like the notion of their dogs being locked into the kennels.

“In view of what happened we have reintroduced the padlocks,” he pointed out.

The spokesperson said the ferry company immediately contacted the gardaí when the dogs were reported missing and all cars leaving the ferry in Cork were searched.