November 8, 2013

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.

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