November 10, 2013

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!

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