Owner weeps for lost Willow

By Danielle Galvin
MESSAGES of condolences poured in over the weekend as the ‘Great Dane robbery’ drew to a tragic end.
Last week, the show pup Willow, affectionately known as “Willy Will”, went missing from her home in Emerald.
Emerald police were investigating the show dog’s disappearance after she was spotted on Thursday walking off with an unknown woman.
The 12-month-old Great Dane was found dead in bushland on Sunday after a suspected snake bite.
Her owner, Chelsee Garrett-Watson, said it had been a rough couple of days as she came to terms with Willow’s death.
“It looks like she crawled under thick scrub. We assumed she had been bitten by a snake. When dogs feel sick, they find a nice quiet place to go, that’s where she was,” Ms Garrett-Watson said.
This weekend, Willow would have turned one.
The Emerald community rallied behind Ms Garrett-Watson following the Great Dane’s disappearance.
Shopkeepers posted flyers on their walls and residents were out on the weekend searching for the “beautifully natured” Willow.
“She was a crazy dog, her mum was called Naughty and she was exactly like her. She was such a friendly dog,” Ms Garrett-Watson said.
“I have a daughter in kindergarten and she was happy to have kids hanging off her, she would always cuddle them and lick them to death!”
Part-owner and breeder Kerry McKinnon posted on lost dog forums after learning of Willow’s disappearance on Tuesday afternoon.
“Kerry has been amazing. I would have curled up in a ball without her. Kerry jumped straight in to ‘let’s find her mode’.”
More than 200 people ‘liked’ the Facebook page, “Help Find Willow” and as news came of her death, more than 50 people commented offering their condolences.
For now, the Emerald mum said she will be a “surrogate aunty” to her friends’ dogs … she can’t imagine owning another Great Dane.
“She was my baby, a lovely natured and beautiful dog. The first Great Dane I owned.”