By DANIELLE GALVIN
WHEN Ashley Alberts was reunited with his staffy Bella after 20 months, there were no words to describe the unlikely, surreal reunion.
Bella had been Ashley’s loyal companion and best friend for four years before she went missing from his Cranbourne home, not long before he met his partner Ashleigh Kelly.
After six months without her, he believed he would never get Bella back.
“Everyone should keep their micro-chip details updated,” he said.
“Don’t ever lose hope.”
While Bella took about a minute or two to warm up, she was happy to be back home where she belonged.
Ashleigh joked that her mum had told her on Thursday when they were reunited that it would be one of the happiest days of his life, maybe even more than when his daughter was born.
“We don’t know if she escaped or if she went missing,” Ashleigh said.
“As the months passed, we lost hope.”
Bella was at the Lost Dogs Home in North Melbourne and they are at a loss as to how she ended up so far from home.
“When she went missing we drove around for hours and hours around Cranbourne and couldn’t find her,” Ashleigh said.
“The message is to keep on believing and update your missing pet’s microchip details.”
