Shaggy dog story with a happy ending

Biggy the Irish Wolfhound – rescued from the Galway-Dublin motorway eleven days after he went missing – spent his first two days at home catching up on sleep in his owner’s bed before going out the town to reacquaint himself with his old human pals.

James Leopold Mechels pronounced himself relieved and delighted to be reunited with the six-year-old pooch he has reared since a small pup.

Already the most famous dog about the town, Biggy has now become an unadulterated celebrity.

“A lot of people are stopping me in their cars, gardaí and everything. He seems to have a lot of relationships. A lot of people have been saying hi to him, he definitely has a bit of fame,” remarked James.

He believes Biggy was taken, perhaps as a joke, to a party but not returned. He somehow ended up walking on the Dublin motorway near the Athenry exit.

A care assistant at a nursing home from Kiltullagh was driving home a week ago when she spotted the enormous dog in a terrible state. “I thought he must have been dumped by somebody because he looked so thin and bedraggled. I was afraid he was going to be knocked down because he looked really tired and didn’t seem to know where he was going,” explained Susan McNamara. She pulled into the hard shoulder and the minute she opened the door the he leapt in.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.