Dog search ends in joy
Locals thanked for efforts
The owner of a dog that went missing in the Perthshire hills for a week has thanked bighearted locals for their efforts in the successful search for her beloved pet.
Ester the Cockerpoo sparked a wide-scale search after she vanished from Ben Chonzie on Tuesday, October 17, while out with owner Rachael Nixon.
The pair had been descending the local Munro when Rachel slipped and let go of Ester’s lead.
Unfortunately Ester, who turns two next week, got lost and a heartbroken Rachael had to return home to Kirkcaldy without her.
But there was a happy ending on Tuesday this week when it was revealed that the beloved pet had been found safe and well, miles away near Ardtalnaig on the south side of Loch Tay.
The daily efforts by Rachael, and her family and friends, to find the missing canine were boosted by south-west Perthshire residents after appeals for sightings of the young dog went viral on social media pages.
Worried locals even donned their walking boots and combed the hills of Glen Turret and Glen Lednock at the weekend to help with the search.
A volunteer from the ‘Drone SAR for Lost Dogs Facebook’ page also helped scour the area from the air and another volunteer went out with night vision goggles.
Ester was found in an area that hadn’t been searched as it was deemed Rachael Nixon and her beloved pet Ester to be too far away, and she looked like she’d had quite an ordeal on her travels. Her harness was ripped and she was in a very scruffy and smelly condition.
Rachael said she was extremely disheartened on Tuesday coming down Glen Lednock with still no reports of any sightings of Ester.
She was exhausted but determined to continue and widen the search area when she got the call to say Ester had been found.
She admitted “As soon as I heard I just screamed. It took us about 50 minutes to get to her. I was crying all the way in the car so I got all the tears out. She knew it was me immediately and was burying her head into me and crying and her eyes were watering.”
Rachael described the response to the search from local people as “amazing”.
She continued: “The people of Comrie, Crieff and the neighbouring villages have been overwhelmingly amazing in helping look for her.”
Rachael thanked all the locals, shepherds, gamekeepers and farmers who helped in the search, wildlife ranger Angus Broad, who eventually found Ester, and everyone at Claggan Farm – where she was taken until they could be reunited.
Posting on Facebook, Rachael said: “Thanks everyone. I’m renaming her ‘Ester Grylls the mountain dog.’ She’s done amazing to last a week and to travel so far and to survive!”
Rachael and her friends and family walked the hills daily during the hunt and she reckons she personally covered 80 miles in her search.
They would take a barbecue and cook bacon in the hope that Ester would smell it from afar.
Speaking on Wednesday, Rachael said that – although Ester has some sores and is a bit unsettled – she is doing well and has been checked over by the vet and been to the groomer, with another trip planned to sort out her matted coat.