Christmas miracle on river street

A minor miracle occurred in Cavan Town last Friday when a pet was finally located abandoned on the chilly banks of the Kinnypottle River after a frantic two-and-a-half week county-wide search. The dog’s discovery prompted the relieved owners to say it was like having their family “back together again” ahead of Christmas.
Four-year-old black Labrador ‘Kama’ went missing from outside the Dabek family home at the Fairgreen, Cavan Town, on November 9 after an exploded firework spooked the dog to bolt for cover.
Their desperate search was all the more heartfelt, due to their year-and-a-half year old daughter, Aniela, who was born with Spina Bifida. The child had taken her first steps walking with the cherished family pet.
Despite scouring nearby local estates for several hours after Kama first went missing, and continuing their search throughout the town and beyond into the early hours, there was no sign of the dog.
“We looked for her all over but we couldn’t find her,” Rafal tells The Anglo-Celt. “We were driving until 2am, shouting ‘Kama, Kama’... we looked everywhere, but nothing. The next day was the same, and everyday since.”
Speaking from their family home, the incredible effort Rafal and his wife Suzanna put into finding their dog included contacting animal charities nationwide, placing adverts in the press and a poster campaign in the hope of gleaning a lead for Kama’s whereabouts.
The couple described as heart-wrenching seeing their daughter crawl to the same spot in the kitchen where Kama’s now empty dog bed was, looking for her canine friend.
Kama came to the Dabeks as a four-month-old abandoned puppy. He approached Rafal and Suzanna’s 12-year-old son Joachim as he was outside washing the car.
Suzanna, who teaches Sunday school religion classes to local children in the Polish community, describes the moment she arrived on their doorstep. “She was very little, very afraid. She looked like the cat from Shrek with her big eyes. So we fed her and she was very, very hungry and after that she became one of the family.”
When Aniela was born, there was an instant bond between the two. As Aniela grew, so too did her attachment to Kama.
From her high-chair at the kitchen table, as the family speaks to this newspaper, Aniela takes a crisp and holds it out towards Kama, who approaches and gently takes it from the infant’s fingers.
“She holds onto Kama and as Kama steps, Aniela now steps too,” says computer technician Rafal. “As a baby, she doesn’t understand much, but when Kama was gone Aniela would go to Kama’s corner and sit there. She knew something was wrong, that Kama was not there. That hurt us a lot and it made it more important for us that we found Kama again.”
Despite being gone for almost 19 days, Kama’s weight only dropped by just a couple of kilogrammes, leading the Dabeks to believe she had been taken off the street the night she ran away.

Discovery
Rafal suspects that their campaign to find Kama perhaps worried whoever took her so much they tried to abandon her. The family subsequently found out that Kama had been there by river bank for three days prior to her discovery, being fed by staff from a nearby restaurant, for which the Dabeks are truly grateful.
The dramatic rescue of Kama from the banks of the town river involved her being hoisted up in a blanket from beneath the old Lifeforce Mill.
Rafal adds: “We’re so happy to have her back. She’s back home. It’s like having our family back. She is one of the family. It will be a happy Christmas with her here.”