Mick Anthony and Zorro after they were reunited

FRIENDS and neighbours have paid tribute to a colourful character who has died four months after appearing in the Tribune being reunited with his lost dog.

Mick Anthony had been devastated when his beloved pet, Zorro, was taken from outside the Finsbury Park Lidl.

He had adopted the dog 15 years ago and they had been loyal companions over the years. Amazingly, they were brought back together when neighbours tracked down Zorro in east London.

Mick’s friend Mandy Sosta put up more than 900 posters across the borough.

She said: “He was a colourful character; always had an opinion and he was just somebody who lived his life the way he wanted regardless of the circumstances. I don’t think I ever saw him down, he always seemed happy. He just took life as it came.”

Mick was born in Islington but at 17 he joined the army and spent 14 years abroad in Germany, Yemen and the Gulf before eventually being transferred back to the UK.

Mick appearing in the Tribune on Christmas Eve

Mick travelled the world for the next seven years and worked as a bartender. He loved discovering new places, meeting people to chat with and learn from.

His neighbours in Avenell Road could always tell when he was out and about as they’d hear his trolley clattering along the streets in Highbury.

Danielle Franklin Cooper, Mick’s neighbour, would cook for him at Easter and Christmas.

She said: “He never asked anyone for anything ever. He was a storyteller and he was a friendly face. He would have done anything to help anybody.”

Mick loved gardening – friends say he could take any 50p marigold and nurture it back to full bloom. He’d then work his way down the street tending to his neighbours’ pot plants and front gardens.

Flowers and plants from his own garden have now been donated to a care home in Stroud Green Road.

Danielle added: “He’s left behind his legacy. He has got Zorro and his plants living on and helping other people. We were lucky to have him as a friend.”

Mick Anthony was diagnosed with cancer last year and died on April 15. Zorro has now been adopted by neighbour Sarah and her family.