Molly – December 2013
December 3, 2013 By Jenny
Molly an 11 year old beagle was being looked after by friends of the owners while they were abroad for Christmas and was walked with her own three spaniels which she enjoyed. She decided to do a runner just before going out for a walk and after seven days was reunited much to the relief of everyone concerned.
Molly’s adventures were not over because after only three days she was being walked on Christmas day and again did a runner and soon after there were reports that she had been hit by a car but the car driver did not stop. The car behind did and the driver tried to see which way Molly went but lost sight of her.
Three days later there had been no sightings of her and we were asked to go and help with Tiga to track. We parked in a farmyard off a lane not far from where Molly had been hit by a car and no sooner we were out of the car Tiga picked up the scent but we thought maybe we had not parked in the best place and so we thought we would go back and move the car but Tiga was having none of it as he dup his paws in and looked at me as if to say – if you want me to find Molly then we go this way and so we did. We followed Tiga and I asked where was the place that Molly was hit by the car and Julie said Tiga is nearly there!
We had gone along the lane turning into another lane and then onto the busy main road – Tiga crossed the road where the car had hit Molly but instead of going in the direction the car driver said Tiga crossed the road and went up a long drive leading to a small cluster of houses. As we approached we saw a gentleman talking to his neighbour and as we approached with a view to ask if we could sniff around the gentleman asked – are you looking for a beagle? We said yes and he replied with I saw a beagle here yesterday! After some discussion we set off in the direction of Tiga’s nose and we went back down the drive onto the same road and along the road before crossing back over and into the lane we had just come down. This time instead of heading back towards the car we carried on up the lane and into a paddock and into a field with horses and sheep. We spoke to a very nice man who allowed us to cross the paddock and field and as we went up to the top end of the field we saw Molly lying quietly in the corner. We approached her with some turkey which she thoroughly enjoyed watched by Tiga hoping he could share. Molly allowed us to put a lead on and have some cuddles. We walked her back to the car and off to the vet where she was given a clean bill of health.
Tia – November 2013
November 22, 2013 By Jenny
Tia a young beagle escaped the family home when a surveyor entered with regards to a house sale.
After a number of sightings the owners contacted us to see if we could help and after 4 days of her still not being caught we went down to help. We arrived at the last know sighting and Tiga was happy he had got the scent and off we went following a number of country lanes but eventually we headed back down a busy road and hill along the same route that Tia had travelled when she first escaped but in the opposite direction. It seemed therefore that she was trying to find her way home.
Tiga tracked to within 4 minutes of home and on the busiest night of fireworks we were bombarded with them and narrowly missed a rocket travelling horizontally! This frightened Tiga and what with this and the thick sulphur smog Tiga was unable to continue but it did appear that Tia had also been frightened by the fireworks and had not made it home.
We returned the next morning and with much meandering around this same area we picked up the scent again and ended up tracking back up to where the sightings had been. We tracked a long day and more sightings came in as posters continued to go up and as we spoke to people as we went. Unfortunately the sightings were all from a few days earlier so we continued to track her route in the hope that we would eventually catch up with her.
There was one road that she was using regularly so we sat out in groups in several different places in the hope of spotting her but it was not to be.
We had a sighting of her sunbathing on the cliff top which Tiga confirmed that it was her and followed in the direction that she went. It appeared that Tia was staying in the same area and using a number of footpaths and roads to travel around but each time there was a sighting and people tried to catch her she ran off and did not return so we were continually on the move.
The last sighting we had was late one night outside a pub again on her patch. When we were told about the sighting the next morning we resumed the hunt and as Tiga was now very tired after four days of tracking and many many miles walked I decided to give Tiga a rest.
It was time to bring Yogi in on his first mission and he immediately picked up the scent and went off in the exact direction that we were told she went the night before. It was a gamble using Yogi but he had to put his training into practice sometime and now was the time. Yogi continued on a route that Tiga had been before and then he took us a slightly different way but I decided to go with it. I advised the owners not to follow this time as we didn’t want their scent being spread further afield if Yogi was wrong. On we went out of the housing estate along country lanes for several miles. When I expected Yogi to turn right and head back, he didn’t he continued left and I still gave him the benefit of doubt until after some way more he wanted to continue at a crossroads and not turn right again. This was time to pull him off and head back towards the village where she had been seen before which was not far away.
We called it a day thinking Yogi was not ready and needed more training.
The next day I had a call from the owner to say that Tia had given herself up to a senior citizen and was safe and well. I then asked where she was picked up and had I allowed Yogi to continue he only had to make one more turn and he would have been in the same road.
So after 10 days Tia was safely reunited with her very happy owners.
Millie – November 2013
November 10, 2013 By Jenny
Millie is a black miniature poodle that slipped her collar as she was being put into the car by the groomer after being clipped and shampood. She was ready to be taken back to her owner who was disabled and in a wheelchair. Millie went everywhere sitting on the chair.
She had been spooked by the busy road and car headlights and six days later there was still no sign of her and no sightings.
We were still in the West Country having just successfully reunited 2 other dogs and were we thought on our way home when we were called to help find Milly.
We started at the groomers house who explained where she ran from and where he saw her go and while he was telling us Tiga was doing just as he was explaining and had already picked up the scent and was off! Having done a tour of the front garden and round the car Tiga went out of the drive and left onto a busy road, he kept close to the verge but then crossed over the road at a junction and continued along a country lane. The owner told me they had not looked this way! Tiga continued on around country lanes and in and out of some gardens but not all.
It was very difficult tracking as there had been torrential rain since she went missing but Tiga was determined and kept going. We travelled some miles in a huge circuit before heading back and into a huge garden and manor house. Here Tiga picked up the strongest scent and continued to track around the grounds taking us on a tour of the walled garden and out and eventually Tiga wanted to go on past a bonfire and down through some mud and through a fence but we were stopped by the groundstaff who said we could not do it. Reluctantly we had to pick Tiga up and pull him away from the scent. We went back out of the grounds and continued along the road back towards the village where the groomer lived. Tiga did not pick up any more scent.
We had a good sniff round the farm building adjacent to where Millie went missing from but nothing.
The heavens opened yet again and we felt we could do no more but for the owners to continue postering and wait for a sighting.
The next day I had a call from the overjoyed owner who had followed me and Tiga to say that ‘Tiga was spot on’ and that they had Millie home safe and sound. Had we been allowed to continue the way Tiga wanted to we would have found Millie because only one field further on was a farm where she had spent the last three nights in a barn! She was spotted by a travelling vet who then saw a poster later on. The farmer had seen her but assumed she was local and had just come in out of the rain!
Teddy – November 2013
November 10, 2013 By Jenny
Teddy is a young beagle that slipped his collar after being frightened by the sound of fireworks on 5th November and he just ran scared down onto a busy main road and as he ran the fireworks kept on and on and he just kept running.
There were a number of sightings that night along the road and cars were stopping but Teddy just ran. The last sighting was at 7 in the morning and searchers were still out looking.
Tiga arrived the following afternoon at the last known sighting and immediately picked up the scent onto this same busy road, fortunately Tiga took us straight across the road and off down a track and into some fields towards a farm. Tiga then led us away from the farm and across more fields and on into a wood where he picked up a footpath. Tiga followed this footpath after a little detour around the wood again and then we came to a junction of footpaths and Tiga went straight ahead. At this point we thought we heard a’hound’ bark in the direction Tiga was taking us, so we called the owners husband who was sitting with the car waiting for any instructions and told him to get ahead of us at the end of the footpath once we were able to communicate as best we could where we actually were and which footpath we were on. After looking at a map Paul was able to work out our position and drove to the end of the footpath. He got out of the car and started to walk along the path in our direction with a sandwich that he had not yet eaten. No sooner did he put the sandwich to his mouth when he saw Teddy sitting there waiting for him. Remembering my instructions if he should see Teddy he threw the sandwich down and Teddy slowly limed to it and allowed Paul to pick him up.
Teddy was very very frightened and cold and was carried back to the car, we were told of this great news and Teddy’s mum that was with me jumped up and down in a muddy puddle with delight.
We eventually got ourselves out of the woods and back to the car and got Teddy off to the vets for a checkover. He was soon back home having a warm bath and lots of cuddles.
This success was the 50th dog that Tiga has tracked and reunited.
Rosie – November 2013
November 8, 2013 By Jenny
We had a call to see if we would travel to Devon to help find Rosie a Greyhound that had been spooked by another dog and run off. Rosie had now been missing for 6 days when we arrived and Archie the owners other dog was missing Rosie desperately as were the owners.
We had everything against us as Rosie had gone missing before the huge storm that hit the south and there had been lots of torrential rain. Undeterred we set off as soon as we arrived despite the heavy drizzle and tracked into the evening. Tiga confirmed the last known sighting and we did as much as we could that night.
The next day Tiga tried so hard in the conditions and followed scent on and off all day and by the end of the day we had covered some 30 miles on foot. We then decided to return later on at night to an area where there had been possible sightings and sit and watch a food bowl. We sat watching a cat help herself to sausages and prawn crackers and at 1 a.m. we finally called it a day!
The next morning we returned to the woods where Rosie had first gone missing and picked up the scent there which took us across the road to an industrial estate where there were a number of fast food wagons.
I then had an urgent call to go and track another dog some 60 miles away and left having given the owners a number of ideas to do until I returned after the weekend which had been promised to be heavy rain and heavy rain it was!
I was back on the Sunday evening and again went straight out but torrential rain forced us to call it a night.
There was a promise of better weather for the whole of the next day so we made a plan to make an early start and to cook breakfast in a car park on the moors near where there had been a sighting seven days earlier. Tiga very quickly got into his stride and took us down the road nipping in and out of clearings and on down the road through a stream of water running down the road edge. The scent was good as Tiga air scented across the water to the road edge not wanting to get his feet wet. We continued on down checking a car park entrance before moving on down to another car park where the owner suddenly announced – there she is and sure enough some 15 yards in front of Tiga’s nose was Rosie.
I quickly gave instructions to the owner which were carried out to a tee and within minutes Tiga and Rosie were sharing chicken. Rosie was very thin and cold but after 11 days her adventure was over and she was safe. Rosie was shivering in the cold early morning air so we dressed her in a light weight jacket and got her back to the car and off to the vet for a check up where she was given a clean bill of health after a few ticks were removed.
Tiga wagged his tail so hard which in turn wagged his whole body – he was so happy.
Tiger Lily – November 2013
November 8, 2013 By Jenny
We had been in the West Country tracking another dog when we got an urgent call to see if we could help to find Tiger Lily who had been missing now for 10 days and was due to have pups in 4 days time.
Tiger Lily was a Cocker Spaniel and had gone off with her mate but he returned home after 5 hours but Tiger Lily did not.
Tiga set off from the house and quickly picked up the scent and took us into a farm nearby and across some fields. Unfortunately Tiga wanted to go into a field with a ram and I didn’t think this was a good idea so we tried to track around and found a footpath which led to where we would probably have come out of the field with the ram and Tiga was straight into the scent again leading down a very disused footpath with a huge fallen tree across the path but Tiga negotiated this and we had to as well. On down the valley we went and into a small woodland off the main footpath and it was here that Tiga sat down and went no further looking up at me. Within about 10 yards of this point was a quarry with an area of water and it was in this water that sadly Tiger Lily was found.
R.I.P. Tiger Lily and your unborn pups.
Lexi – August 2013
October 16, 2013 By Jenny
Lexi is a 13 month old German Shepherd who was on a home check visit and escaped from this huge house she had been visiting.
I called the owner to offer some help with tracking and this was much appreciated so we ventured down to the place she had escaped from and were given some of her bedding for Tiga to get the scent from and off we went. It was a long hard day as Tiga just didn’t seem to pick up the scent which was surprising when Lexi had only been missing a few days. In some places Tiga seemed to have it and in others he didn’t, I kept sniffing the scent item and thought this doesn’t smell doggy! I questioned the owners about the bedding but was assured it was from lexis bed. Tiga carried on trying hard to pick up the scent and after many hours we thought we should give Tiga a rest and went for a cup of tea. After this much needed rest we returned to the area where the sighting had been and as we approached I saw Lexi travelling at a speed I had never seen a dog go before. I got out of the van and immediately put Tiga on the scent – still he didn’t pick anything up which i thought was quite bizarre. After doing a number of door to door enquiries and seeing Lexi again we called it a night and planned to return the next day with a trap.
Puzzled as to why Tiga had not picked up the scent, I soon realized that although yes the bedding was from Lexi’s bed but it was from the inside of the bed and the smell of the fire retardant overpowered the dog scent and in fact Tiga was probably trying to find a discarded settee in the ditch!
Our plan was to return the next night with traps and this we did, I had also asked the owner to bring a better scent item of which they did. We had two traps set up at both ends of a long road that Lexi was using and facing in different directions and we planned to man them all night. Lexi didn’t come and while letting Tiga out for a wee I spotted Lexi some 200 metres down the road legging it fast. We jumped in a vehicle and tried to follow but she had gone. A member of the public came to tell us they had seen Lexi and told us which way they thought she had gone. We drove round but no sign so we returned to man the traps and hope she would come round again. In the meantime I gave Tiga the new scent item and set off to see what he could pick up. He immediately responded and we picked up the scent but Tiga wanted to turn left and not right as per the directions of the member of the public and I trusted Tiga and went with him. We crossed over the busy A26 and off down a quiet country lane where no posters had been put up and no thoughts of her going that way were considered. My trust was with Tiga, we tracked down the lane and then around some farm buildings and back out onto the lane and soon spotted her and I called for the owner to come as she was still moving in a hurry. The owner found me and I told her to follow as we continued to track. Now in open countryside and with nowhere to go except along this long lane I jumped in the car instructing the owner to drive slowly to see if we could catch up. This we did and I gave the owner a handful of food to throw out in the road, this stalled Lexi – the food was tempting, another handful was thrown out and Lexi circled the car sniffing. I gave another handful of food asking her to just hold her hand out with the food. Lexi sniffed the food and realised it was her ‘mum’ and started to eat. I told her to get hold of her collar and once this was done I got out to go and secure Lexi with a lead. I then had to control a hysterical owner and her daughter and one very happy dog without Lexi running off again.
Relief all round and one very happy Tiga!
Zara – October 2013
October 10, 2013 By Jenny
Zara a beagle was frightened off while her owner was unloading the shopping from her car just outside her block of flats. She still had her extending lead and collar on.
With no sightings or any sign of Zara we travelled up to try and help. Tiga picked up the scent from outside the flats where she was last seen and took us off into a park which was also the direction she was seen to run. Tiga then took us around a skate park not far from the flats and then into and around some dense bushes and brambles before going off on a complete circuit around the area and then back again to the flats.
The heavens had opened and we were well and truly wet through again and it was now dark and no sign of the heavy rain stopping so we called it a night. Clearly Zara had travelled this circuit and had come back and was probably very close by.
The next morning we had a call to say that two young lads had been kicking a football around the skate park and it went into the bushes where Tiga had sniffed and when they went to collect the ball from the bushes they saw her lying there, she was curled up and still had her lead and collar on.
Zara was taken to the vet who knew about Zara and she was soon reunited with her owner.
Pattie – September 2013
September 11, 2013 By Jenny
Pattie was a black Labrador Retriever who was enjoying a family weekend camping when she decided to go on her own adventure from the campsite. She had been ill recently and was very thin for a Labrador. She was wearing a red collar!
After much searching by family friends and volunteers there was no sign of Pattie even though the owner had heard a possible yap in bushes near the campsite.
Four days later Tiga was called in by the local Dog Lost area Co-ordinator and Tiga started from where she was last seen at the campsite. Tiga tracked from here past the reception and on down the lane taking a right turn down some steps leading to an angling club reservoir where someone said they had spotted her at 10 p.m. one night. Tiga carried on turning left into a road which eventually went down to the fish markets on Hastings seafront. Tiga then tracked back from here after finding it hard to pick the scent up from the strong fish smells! He took us up to the country park where apparently a couple had reported that they had heard a dog panting in the thick undergrowth a few days ago. They had also met another person who thought they had heard a dog too.
There were also reports of other sightings back at the campsite so Tiga and I decided to camp out all night at the campsite keeping watch but there was nothing.
In the morning we had a call to say that there was a sighting back at the Country Park and we were on our way. Despite seeing eight black Labradors all wearing red collars Tiga again picked up the scent and headed from the Park down the East Hill steps back down to the fish market and and then tracked back towards the campsite in the opposite direction that we had already tracked but the scent ran out before we reached the campsite.
Pattie had now been missing 10 days and Tiga was not picking up any more new scent and despite there being a number of possible sightings by campers at the campsite Tiga could not confirm these.
The owner soon had a call from someone to say that they had got Pattie and that they had had her for a week having seen her on a route that Tiga had tracked and where the scent stopped. They saw that she was so very skinny and without a collar thinking she had been neglected and felt sorry for her and took her in and fed her but when they saw a poster and realised she was a missing family pet that had been ill they contacted the owner who went to collect her.
I was absolutely delighted that Pattie was back safe with the right family and although I can understand the actions of the finder it was somewhat frustrating that the family of Pattie were under so much stress as were the children, there were so many kind volunteers looking for Pattie, so many posters going up which then had to be taken down and Pattie was enjoying 5 meals a day, please can I ask anyone else thinking of keeping a dog they have found, to think twice and at least go to a vet to get the dog scanned and go down the correct channels to save a lot of heartache.
Lola – September 2013
September 11, 2013 By Jenny
Lola was a ten week old Patterdale that suddenly disappeared from the family garden and the owners were desperate to find her thinking she had possibly been taken from the garden.
I was contacted to give some advice on scenting which I did before I was able to get there to help. When we arrived the owner wanted to show us two possible places where Lola could have escaped the garden so I took Tiga to each of these two places but he was not interested in either and did not show any intention of wanting to go through. So I let Tiga do what he wanted and he went straight to a raised Koi pond which was waist high and about 2m x 1m with some stepping stones to the side. Tiga went up the steps and sniffed the water and sat down and looked at me long enough to tell me with his eyes then turned and ran back into the house with his tail down.
I asked the owner if he had searched the pond he said he had but I asked him to do it again.
R.I.P. Lola
Nettie – August 2013
August 11, 2013 By Jenny
Nettie was a very timid black Labrador Retriever who was out on a family picnic in the Forest of Dean and was spooked by the picnic basket as the contents clattered and she ran off but unfortunately her lead had caught around the basket handle and she trailed not only the lead but the picnic basket behind her which made her more frightened and then just ran.
After 7 days Nettie was still missing and we had a call to see if we could help which of course we did. We travelled down and decided to camp in the area for as long as it took to find her. We were taken to where the picnic was and Tiga picked up scent and took us on routes around the forest but did not confirm the possible sightings which was not surprising because again we met so many black labs with red collars off lead!
Tiga clearly indicated that Nettie was not in the Forest but did take us to a camp site not far away. It was here that we spoke to all the campers and put posters up. Several campers reported seeing Nettie and one lady even said she had gate crashed their BBQ thinking she was from another caravan. It was clear that we had to start postering in a larger area which the owners and volunteers did. The next morning there was a call from a lorry driver that had seen Nettie running up and down a busy road early in the morning, he stopped to find a poster at a road side cafe in order to call the owners. With bad reception in the area we eventually got the message and were there very quickly as we had only just left that area following up another call to find the good news that Nettie had followed a lady walking her dog along a track from the road and allowed herself to be caught near to where the lady lived.
On this occasion although Tiga did not track and find Nettie he did a great job of telling us where she was not and in particular that she was not in the Forest where she was thought to be and where there had been possible sightings he confirmed these were not Nettie and these were also later to be confirmed as another black lab.
Wilma – July 2013
July 14, 2013 By Jenny
Wilma was a young Saluki/Greyhound/Terrier cross who escaped from the owners house by jumping out of a first floor sache window onto the porch and down into the garden where the gate was open and off she went on her travels.
I called the owner to offer some help in tracking Wilma with Tiga and in very hot conditions we were on our way meeting the owner at her home and with a scent item we set off from the garden. Wilma had only been missing 24 hours so the scent should be good. Tiga immediately picked up the scent and took us on a small loop and back to the house which happened to be where Wilma had been walked the day before, he then picked up the scent from where Wilma escaped from the garden and took us down a very busy A road, some way down Tiga crossed over which surprised the owners as they thought she would have stayed on the same side of the road.
We tracked into a farm and around the boundary of a barn spending time sniffing a cosy spot where we believe she spent the night. From here we left the farm and headed across some fields towards a country house with large gardens leading onto more farmland. Tiga led us through this garden and out the back across the fields and on into another field where we again kept to the boundary and came back on ourselves going through a gate into some dense woodland. Here we followed a gentle stream crossing over it several times leading down towards the far end of the woods, we did one last crossing of the stream and headed back up towards some thick bracken and bramble and there about 6 feet in front of Tiga’s nose was what I thought at first was a dead sheep but no it was Wilma.
We now had to catch Wilma without frightening her away and I was with ‘Clarkey’ a DogLost Co-ordinator and it was the first time she had been there at the point a dog was found and she said to me what do we do now and I said don’t panic! We scattered some sardines down on the ground with some biscuits and I allowed Tiga to eat them. Wilma thought that looks good I want some of that and got up to come to us – game over – we were then able to walk to Wilma and give her some sardines and secure her.
The owner was unable to follow us as he had injured his ankle while searching the night before but when we called him to tell him the good news nothing was going to stop him coming to see Wilma. We decided to carry Wilma back through the woods as she was limping and we weren’t sure how badly but we were met by a number of overjoyed helpers and neighbours.
After a trip to the vet Wilma was soon back home enjoying lots of cuddles from the owners.
Meg – July 2013
July 11, 2013 By Jenny
Meg was a tri coloured Border Collie that was being walked on lead by the owner and was approached by two other dogs that were let off their leads and rushed towards Meg frightening her causing her to break free and run scared.
This was fairly local to me to so I offered to help find Meg as I had just a few hours to spare. Tiga picked up the scent from where she was last seen two days before. He took us into the gardens of a very large house which quite by coincidence the owner of the house was calling to say that she had seen Meg in her garden two nights ago. Tiga then tracked through some very dense bramble and out onto a footpath and round and back to the church where the owners car was parked and was parked when Meg went missing. Tiga also took us into a shaded wood next to a house where also the owner later reported her dog barking late at night and wanting to go out. Both these reports came in after posters had gone up as a result of Tiga tracking these areas.
It was extremely hot and very very difficult for Tiga to track and he needed constant rests in the shade and lots of water which we were soon to run out of. This was a concern for Meg as everywhere was dry but we believe she had found water in one of the gardens bird baths as Tiga gave it a good sniff.
There was also another sighting reported the day before in the car park so this clearly indicated that Meg was staying close by as expected.
My time was up as I had another appointment but left the owner with lots of instructions including staying in the car park for as long as she possibly could that night. This she did until she couldn’t keep awake any longer so home she went only to drive past a commotion of cars stopped in the road and people running about. She then returned immediately to the car park having received a call to say she was there in the car park and that commotion was members of the public trying to catch and/or shepherd Meg off the road.
The owner called me asking for advice and I told her to go back to the car park and wait for as long as it took and gave her advice on what to do when she saw Meg in order to catch her so as not to frighten her off. At 5 in the morning I had a call to say she had seen Meg so I talked through instructions and at 5.30 Meg was on her way home very thin and with very sore pads but otherwise ok.
Pepper – May 2013
May 11, 2013 By Jenny
Dear little Pepper was a 6 month old Beagle pup that had been on a walk in Clumber Park and was not too far away from the car park. A cyclist came by and pepper thought that was fun to run after the cyclist who was called by the owners to stop while they picked up the fun loving pup. The cyclist chose not to and Pepper carried on running until she was lost.
The owners were out searching all hours in a desperate bid to find Pepper but no joy. I called them and gave them some advice but a day later there was still no sign of Pepper who was now lost in a 4,000 acre National Trust Park.
The next evening I was on my way up to Clumber to help the owners meeting them late into the evening. I made sure that they had put bedding down at the last place that Pepper was with them and they had. It was from here that we started tracking and Tiga quickly picked up the scent taking us on a reasonable sized circuit around the area and back to the car park passing the bed on the way.
Tiga continued to track through the night constantly doing circuits and we took a couple of hours rest before resuming in the early hours. I could tell that the owners were very despondent but I was determined that she was about and that we would find her. The size of the circuits that Tiga was tracking indicated that she was travelling a fair distance but always coming back to the car park passing the bed.
Phebe another tracker who lived locally joined in the search in the morning and while Wispa was leading Phebe into the forest I decided to give Tiga a rest while I enjoyed a Clumber Park ice cream!
It was my intention after eating the ice cream to walk back to the bed to see if there was any sign of her there but in the meantime a guy walking his dog walked close to me and I asked him if he had seen a beagle pup while walking he said yes he had. On asking when and where he told me just now over on the bridleway in that direction. So I quickly got Tiga and off we went but it seemed to be a red herring as Tiga did not pick up any scent so we returned back to the car park to find the National Trust Rangers there in a group talking.
The news was that two dog walkers had walked passed the bed seeing a sign that said ‘please leave as we are trying to attract our beagle puppy back’ They were standing there going ahh a toy has been left for the puppy but then the toy moved and they then thought a litter mate had been left for the missing puppy. Fortunately the National Trust Rangers were working in the field close by and they went to ask and were told that if anything is in the bed it was the missing puppy curled up fast asleep in her own bed!
Oh how I wish I had not followed up the possible sighting because had I gone to the bed after eating my ice cream – Pepper would have been there asleep in bed.
I think I can say that the owners were somewhat overcome with happiness when reunited with dear little Pepper and who seemed none the worse for her adventure as she insisted on having a ball thrown to retrieve repeatedly when she was back in her own garden!
Pickles – April 2013
April 15, 2013 By Jenny
Pickles is a Jack Russell Terrier that was staying in kennels while the owner was in hospital . He apparently escaped when being taken on lead from his kennel to the enclosed paddock for his last little run around at night. It was cold, dark and raining and Pickles was believed to have run down the paddock and escaped over the stock fencing at the far end.
Three days later there was still no sign of Pickles or any sightings so we offered to go down and help.
Tiga was taken to the kennel and immediately picked up the scent to the paddock but he was not interested in going down the paddock instead he did a few circles by the entrance to the paddock and then came out of the paddock and across the yard, behind some farm buildings and out onto the road. It was here on the road that Tiga continued to go backwards and forwards across the road and the kennel staff informed us that there had been a screech of car tyres at about the same time that Pickles went missing. Fortunately the scent continued but along the road until we went into the grounds of a farmhouse. Tiga continued round and then back onto the road and in the same direction. We soon took a right hand turn and continued along the road. It soon became clear that we were in fact following the exact route that the owners drove to and from the kennels and it looked possible that Pickles was making his way home.
However Tiga did take a detour into a small group of houses with a gate between and it seemed he wanted to go this way but with no one to ask permission we carried on along the road and eventually coming back to the kennels.
The next day there was a sighting along the road that we had been tracking and he was seen going back into a field just a field away from the kennels. So we gave strict instructions to the owner to go and sit in the field with a tin of sardines and the sister of Pickles and five minutes later Pickles was reunited.
Louis & Billy – March 2013
March 22, 2013 By Jenny
Louis a large black Poodle and Billy his friend a white Westie escaped from the family garden after a courier left not one but two gates open when delivering a parcel for a neighbour.
Two days later and with no sign of these two boys we were on our way to help find them.
We started where there had been a possible sighting by a car park on the sea front. It was so bitterly cold and the wind was very strong so we were determined to find them as soon as possible.
Tiga picked up the scent and where it was believed they had continued along the sea front towards the firing ranges Tiga took us across the road and onto the light railway line in the same direction but after some distance soon turned back. From here we went to the spar shop doorway and then back onto the railway line in the opposite direction taking in a tour of the holiday park and then again back onto the railway line and off to shingle and gorse covered areas between the railway line and a lake which was part of a nature reserve. Eventually we arrived at a school which was separated from us by a wire fence.
The owners didn’t know the school was there and so posters were soon put up.
It was here that Tiga seemed to be a bit confused because he wanted to go through a hole in the fence and also over a fence. This indicated that little Billy couldn’t get over the fence which Louis had done and so for the first time they were separated until Billy found his way through the fence.
We were now all very cold and tired and Tiga also need a rest so we called it a day.
The next morning a lady walking her dogs spotted Billy & Louis and when she called the owners to explain where she had seen them it was around the lakes just passed the school and of course the owners now knew exactly which school they were talking about and were able to get there quickly and after a short search Billy & Louis were found then hiding in a little den they had made.
This was the first time that Tiga had tracked two dogs together and I was pleased with the way he coped with it.
Billy – March 2013
March 22, 2013 By Jenny
Billy is a Jack Russell Cross that went missing while on a large family walk in woodland. It was very local to me and so we went to help the owners. The owners took me to where Billy was last seen and Tiga picked up the scent and took us on a tour of the woods before heading off to a local private school and around the grounds. From here Tiga tracked along the road to woods on the other side of where he first went missing. .
It was dark and late and head torch was failing and so we had to call it a night but no sooner had we got home, we got a call from the owners to say that Billy had just been picked up in the woods where Tiga had just tracked to.
Hachi – January 2013
January 21, 2013 By Jenny
Hachi was a rescue cross breed who was being walked with the foster family when a dog off lead charged towards Hachi and he ran off after breaking his lead.
Tiga and I went to help as there was a possibility that Hachi was injured.
Tiga immediately picked up the scent and tracked from where he was attacked and on around some rugby fields but instead of going on around the fields where he knew he turned off into a housing estate much to the surprise of his fosterers as they had never been that way before. I was confident that Tiga was right due to the background of the dog. We continued on around the housing estate and then back out across some fields into a valley before coming back round again into the housing estate and heading almost back to the rugby club where Hachi was attacked. Not far from here was a row of shops and Tiga took us behind these shops to a cafe and insisted on having a look around. There were a lot of food scraps and it was a challenge deciding if Tiga was hungry or if Hachi was there or had been there. We spoke to the owners of the cafe and asked them to keep an eye open for Hachi.
From here we picked up the scent again and headed back to the Rugby Club and it was now dark and the owners had other dogs to feed and walk etc so we called it a night.
Tiga had defined the area that Hachi had travelled with a strong possibility that he would return to the cafe.
In the morning I had a call from Hachi’s fosterers to say that Hachi had been picked up behind the cafe. A trip to the vet revealed an infection presumably from when he was attacked.
Benji – January 2013
January 19, 2013 By Jenny
Benji was a French Bulldog that went missing while on a walk near to home. The owners were worried for his welfare and asked if a tracker dog could assist.
We were contacted and agreed to see if we could help which we agreed to. Tiga was given a scent item and we went to the last place that the owner had seen Benji. Tiga picked up scent from the normal daily walk but then headed on down to the front door of a house and refused to move. We continued to track but no other scent was picked up and we called it a day.
Two weeks later Benji was picked up by a member of the public far away from where he had first gone missing trailing a different lead and collar. The finder took him to a vet to be scanned and he was soon reunited with his very grateful owner.
Maisie – January 2013
January 14, 2013 By Jenny
Maisie a Cairn Terrier was being walked by her elderly owner on the National Trust Heathland at Dunwich on the Suffolk coast when she slipped on the ice and dropped the extending lead which then bumped along behind Maisie frightening her which caused her to run off. A distraught owner was still not reunited with Maisie after extensive searches by friends, family, volunteers and National Trust staff. The temperatures were below -8 and with snow having fallen after 8 days with no sign, it was not looking good for Maisie.
Someone had heard of Tiga and we were called up to Suffolk and agreed to go up and stay overnight in the NT car park. We arrived and when I saw the landscape – I thought ‘Oh’ – it was a huge expanse of heather and gorse for as far as you could see. Undaunted we set to work and met the lady in the Coast guard kitchen who gave us the coat belonging to Maisie for him to get the scent from and off we went. With misleading stories of where Maisie ran off from didn’t help the situation but Tiga had picked up the scent and after about two hours was on the trail and now with a National Trust warden we heard a terrier bark, we stood and listened to see if we heard it again but Tiga was already heading towards something that was moving. We followed and my first sight was that of a waggy tail – it was Maisie who was tied up by the extending lead which was wrapped around the bush about a dozen times with only about twelve inches of lead free. Clearly Maisie had tried to chew through but had failed. I quickly picked her up and to my delight she was warm and didn’t seem to be distressed but happy to have been found.
We rushed her back to the kitchen to await a very overjoyed owner, who found it very difficult to believe Maisie had been found and was perfectly ok.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-21233780
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/01/dog-survives-eight-days-lost-in-freezing-temperatures/
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Support by Phytoforce
Tiga and Yogi's diets are supplemented by Phytoforce Veterinary Herbal Tonics provided by Phytoforce.
Galen Myotherapy
Tiga and Yogi are kept in peak condition by the team at Galen Therapy Centre. The centre was established in 2002; They specialise in treating dogs with chronic muscular pain; enabling enhanced mobility and health. It also has been in the forefront of interpreting how behaviour and muscle pain manifest in our dogs.
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