François Josset, a retiree who lives in the town of Bosc-Hyons (Seine-Maritime), noticed that his new dog (formerly mistreated) had run away. Thinking he would never see her again, he finally found her after a journey of more than 100 kilometers.
Born in Martinique, Belle, a young fox terrier, was found with her baby in a deplorable state a few weeks ago. “They barely held on their paws, exhausted. Both were very fearful. Their behavior suggests that they have been mistreated,” François Josset, her new owner.
It was through Chloé Philippe, his daughter-in-law and a volunteer for the Les Petits Innocents association, a structure that allows the adoption of stray dogs from Martinique, that François and Belle met.
“When we saw her with my wife, we fell in love. She deserves to be happy. Belle is so kind even though she has experienced violence. There (in Martinique), euthanasia awaited her. The poor thing, she can’t even bark,” François told Actu.fr.
“My father-in-law who lives in Bosc-Hyons decided to adopt her.” – Chloe Philippe
Belle was finally entrusted to them on May 24. “After a visit to the vet and three weeks with us in the host family, we took care to bring a blanket with our smell to reassure her,” explains Chloé Philippe.
Still too apprehensive, however, Belle escaped into the Brayon countryside the next day through a hole in the garden hedge, Demotivator reported. “To make her travel 8,000 kilometers and lose her after all the things she had been through before, I blamed myself when she fled,” said Francois.
At the time, without much conviction, he decided to launch an appeal on the Facebook page of L’Éclaireur – La Dépêche du Pays de Bray:
An action immediately took place, and against all expectations, the responsiveness and solidarity of social networks operated. Indeed, Internet users have repeatedly reported seeing the animal two days after her disappearance, Belle was precisely located by a school bus driver in Hécourt, Eure, about 70kms. from her home.
Alerted, François went to the scene. However, there, she could not be approached and Belle disappeared again. It was finally on May 29 that she reappeared in a field in Bosc-Hyons, near their home. François and his wife then decided to put the blanket with the same smell back in their yard, just in case.
“The next morning we found her asleep on the blanket in the yard. She came back on her own!” François shared, happy that Belle came home on her own safe and sound. “In fact, she is the one who adopted us,” he exclaimed, saluting the solidarity of internet users who responded which “has been incredible.”
“The solidarity has been incredible. I can’t believe it,” says the Bosc-Hyons pensioner, then added, “In Martinique, dogs are most often stray. To survive, they travel many kilometers. Maybe she was afraid of losing her freedom.”
A story that has ended well!
