Disabled Dog Reunited With Missing Leg Brace

21 October 2011, 10:04 | Updated: 21 October 2011, 10:09

A disabled dog from Dorset is now able to go for walks again after his missing leg brace was found and returned.

Milo, a short-haired pointer, lost the leg support while out for an evening stroll on Upton Heath, leaving him unable to exercise. He is now bounding around again after it was found by a Dorset Wildlife Trust warden and his dog.

Milo’s leg was badly broken when he was hit by a car in May when he was only 9 months old. He now has two metal plates in his leg, which along with the specially-made brace allow him to walk.

Milo’s owner Matthew Pond, from Poole, contacted Dorset Wildlife Trust the morning after the brace went missing, in the hope that somebody might hand it in.  Later the same day, Dorset Wildlife Trust warden Nigel Brooks and his dog, Buba, discovered it on their lunchtime walk and realised that it was not a piece of litter. 

On hearing the news, Matthew Pond said: “I really thought it was a lost cause – needle in a haystack came to mind.  Since Milo’s had the brace there is no stopping him. Anyone who knows the breed will know they have boundless energy and do everything at 100 miles an hour!!  We are so grateful that the brace was found as Milo has been forlorn and it would have cost us a small fortune to get it replaced.”

Nigel Brooks said: “We were very happy to reunite Milo with his brace so he can get out and about again.  We find all sorts of litter on the heath but this was certainly one of the more unusual finds. Buba should take the credit really, as she’s the one who found it; without her, it could have easily have been lost in the heather.”