In the News: Ammanford, Wales mourns dog 'loved by so many'

Coley would sit and wait for Lesley Owen to come home from work Cr; Lesley Owen

Here's a story from BBC News, Wales - about a town that is mourning the loss of a beloved border collie.

Ammanford mourns dog 'loved by so many'

BBC News Aug. 27, 2019

Shrines to faithful dogs are found worldwide - from Hachiko's statue in Japan to Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh.Now a plaque has been mounted in the favourite spot of a popular pet from Carmarthenshire, whose death caused an outpouring of grief in his hometown.


Coley the collie would spend evenings in Penybanc, Ammanford, waiting for his owner Lesley Owen to come home.
Ms Owen said the bench next to the kerb where he would wait was so full of flowers no-one could sit down.
A plaque has already been mounted, with Ms Owen planning to add her own in the future.
Ms Owen, 50, explained that there were many flowers from people she never knew had met her pet: "They don't know who I am, they just know the dog."
Coley, who "loved children", was often the highlight of trips home from school, with parents travelling the long way home to see him.

 Coley would insist that Ms Owen's husband, Phil, take him to his bench to keep watch, even in the snow and hail.

A plaque posted in Coley's memory. Credit: Lesley Owen

"Hundreds of children over the years have been waving [to him]," said Ms Owen.

"He meant so much to so many people."
Ms Owen said that one boy spotted the flowers and asked his mother to take him to buy flowers with his pocket money.

 Coley, who was Ms Owen's birthday present, was 11 when he died of old age surrounded by his family last month.
The family "miss him terribly", with Ms Owen still looking for Coley when she comes home.
"To think he was loved by so many people, it has helped," she said.