Halloween howls as dog goes disco dancing

REUNITED?Mayo News Living columnist Paul O’Brien was delighted to be reunited with his dog Bella on Sunday after a frightening Halloween experience.?Pic: Paul Mealey

Áine Ryan

WITH a name like Bella, her barking should be more benevolent than frightening but whether this cuddly canine ended up howling at the moon for Halloween is a matter of speculation. The cuddly collie certainly gave her owner, Paul O’Brien, a scare when she went missing from their suburban garden near Westport last Saturday night.
The display of fireworks along the skyline coupled with the hordes of roaming children transformed into ghosts and ghouls could have unsettled her after O’Brien let her out into the garden for her nightly constitutional. But, when the faithful pooch didn’t return for a number of hours, he became concerned and began driving around the neighbourhood searching for her.    
“I left Bella outside to do her constitution and she must have gotten a bit frightened by the fireworks because when I went out for her she wasn’t there,” Paul said. “I left it an hour and checked again but I became very worried as she never really ventures further than a few metres out of the garden.”

Morning search
Naturally, he was worried she had been hit by a car. In the end, Paul reluctantly went to bed and got up early the following morning to search for her.
“We live about two miles outside Westport and to drive into town you have to go down the busy Westport to Castlebar Road. I thought the chances were slim of finding the dog here but I spotted one of my friends coming off a night shift in the local hotel and he said that he actually had seen a dog last night,” said Paul. Turned out Bella felt like shaking a paw and had decided to do some disco dancing at a 21st birthday party in Westport’s C2 nightclub in the Castlecourt Hotel.  Paul’s mate assured him that his blue-collared dog had a great time at the festive shenanigans and was a hit with other revellers. Afterwards, the concerned hotel staff dropped him off to a local Vet’s where, by all accounts, he slept soundly and had a good Irish doggy breakfast.