LOST & HOUND
Army of bearded collies help track runaway pet
WHEN her bearded collie Arran bolted during a walk in the forest, owner Madeleine Fear knew who to call for help.
She put out an appeal to other ‘beardie’ owners on social media and soon had a small army of volunteers – plus their pets, of course. More than 40 of the dogs and their owners travelled from far and wide to Verwood, Dorset, to help in the threeday hunt for six-year-old Arran.
They walked through the areas where he had been spotted, in the hope Arran would respond to the barking and doggy scent, and handed out more than 200 posters. The army of volunteers even used an infrared camera and a drone in the hunt. Some slept in their cars in sub-zero temperatures, while mother-oftwo Mrs Fear, a dog breeder who lives ten miles away in Bransgore, camped in Ringwood Forest with a friend.
Finally on Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 hours after Arran bolted from his dog walker, a homeowner rang to say she had spotted him in her back garden.
Mrs Fear, 43, who bred Arran and has had him accepted for this year’s Crufts, gave him a big hug as they were reunited.
She has paid tribute to the owners and their dogs who answered her appeal for help. One made a 160-mile round trip from Guildford, Surrey, to join the search for Arran.
‘The people of Verwood and the bearded collie owners who travelled down here to help have been amazing,’ Mrs Fear said yesterday. ‘We are a very close community.
There were over 100 people looking for Arran, even late at night in the woods.
‘Even though it was minus 6C [21F] one night we slept in our cars because we were so desperate to find him. Without the sheer volume of people searching for Arran he would not have been found. With all the bearded collies walking around almost everyone in Verwood knew we were looking for Arran, which was really important as it raised awareness of the search. I’m ecstatic that he’s been found.’
Bearded collie breeder Mary Busby, 60, a biomedical scientist who made an 80-mile round trip from Fareham, Hampshire, to join the search, said: ‘The bearded collie breeders’ community is very close so whenever something awful happens we all band together.
‘It’s fabulous that Arran has been found and reunited with Madeleine.’