I hope in sharing a couple of my own positive lost dog experiences I will give comfort to others who are currently searching for their lost pets.
My last Dobermann was startled by a hot air balloon when he was 8 months old. He took off, with the balloon following him overhead so he just kept going. I couldn’t find him and no-one reported finding him. I put notices up all around the area where we had been walking and in the nearby town.
3 days later I had a phone call from a man who had found him in traffic in the town centre and taken him home. Reunited!
That was a few years ago. Then last year I was staying in Kent at my Sister’s house – a very long way from my Wiltshire home. My current Dobermann and my little Border Terrier, both microchipped and wearing i.d. discs with my home PLUS mobile number, spent most of their days in the large garden, the Border sometimes disappearing into the neighbouring field but always returning to the house. Then one day he didn’t return. Hours went by and searches were futile. I was confident I'd receive a phone call any moment but none came. Posters were put up along lanes and main roads in a 10 miles radius and in all the villages. Of course I rang the Police but they don’t deal with lost dogs anymore; they gave me the Dog Warden’s number to call. I registered him as lost with the dog Warden. My son rushed down from London and searched for 2 days and well into the night, travelling miles along country lanes and checking at Gypsy sites. We were frantic.
I rang local radio stations and newspapers. One wonderful girl at the Kent Messenger did a small editorial piece on "missing Milo", with a photo, and got it into the paper just as it was going to press. I am forever indebted to her as it was this that prompted a dog search agency to contact me.
After 3 days and into the fourth I received a call from Alfie’s Dogs search organisation. The lady had seen Milo in the paper and asked if I’d checked with the local “holding” kennels. I hadn’t, of course, and she gave me the number. I rang them instantly. My Border was there! Reunited!
Why couldn’t I find him earlier? His i.d. disc was missing, probably pulled off when he went through a fence or hedge. His microchip wouldn’t scan [later had to have another inserted]. My Sister’s house is situated between two Dog Warden offices and I reported my missing dog to the wrong one; no communication between the two apparently. He was picked up by a well-meaning person just outside my Sister’s house but without his i.d. disc they assumed him to be lost.
I don’t know if all Dog Wardens have special holding arrangements with boarding kennels but it’s worth checking in your area. Worth checking also which is the relevant Dog Warden for your postcode location.
The big lesson for me is that you can’t rely on any of the precautions you put in place or the local Council department to automatically direct your missing pet back to you.