The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
A rescue dog missing for more than two weeks in Dundee has been reunited with her owners. Emma, left, and Isla Gray are delighted at Alana’s return.
Arescue dog missing for more than two weeks in Dundee has been reunited with her delighted and relieved owners.
Rottweiler Alana, brought over as a foster dog from Spain, was spooked and fled during a walk on Christmas Day.
But a specialist team managed to locate her in the park and streets around Balgay Hill before successfully capturing her.
She is one of several dogs owner Emma Gray looks after temporarily with the aim of rehabilitating and finding them a new home.
As well as helping the dogs, fostering also eases anxiety in Emma’s two daughters who have autism – though none of the dogs from Spain are therapy dogs.
Emma said Alana is doing well and settling back in at home.
She said: “We’re all hugely relieved that Alana is back home with us after her ordeal.
“She’s enjoying hot meals and a cosy bed. She recognised us right away and we are happy to say she is starting to bond with us again.”
She added the family have decided to keep her as a pet permanently.
Canine Capture UK, which was hired to capture exhausted Alana, used Remote Chemical Injection (RCI) techniques to immobilise her.
The process saw her shot with a dart projector filled with a sedative before being checked over by a vet within half an hour.
Dog trainer Jessie Probst assisted the family in the search.
She said: “An older gentleman aged 87 living locally really helped.
“He was feeding foxes and Alana at the same time every night so the team was able to understand her movements.
“He is a lovely, lovely, guy.
“Canine Capture UK were really professional and very organised.”
A Gofundme page has also been launched by Emma and Jessie to help cover the £1,700 cost of the professional capture.
Money raised will also go towards ensuring Alana’s “safe future, ongoing health care, psychological therapy, and physical needs”.
This includes reinforced fencing, baby gates and safety dens.
The search was not without its issues, as one man was allegedly assaulted amid rising tensions over how best to capture Alana.
After her disappearance, volunteers from an online group flocked to Camperdown Park and Balgay Park in a bid to trace her.
It led to disagreements between those from the group, named Missing Pets Dundee and Angus, and Alana’s owners and their friends.
The issues centred on concerns the mass effort was hampering the search and scaring Alana off.
Police say a 47-year-old, who is understood to be a member of the social media group, has been charged in connection with an assault at Logie Street, near Balgay Park.
Kaye Walker, director of Canine Capture UK, said the company arrived to take over the hunt the day after the alleged incident.
She said such a search effort should only be conducted by those with training.
She said: “We don’t wish to have personal spats with anybody.
“When people don’ t know what they are doing, it can become difficult and personalities clash.”
A spokesperson for Missing Pets Dundee and Angus, which organised a search team alongside members of the public, said she does not wish to comment on the alleged altercation.
She added: “We are absolutely thrilled Alana is now safe and warm and off the streets after her ordeal.
“That’s what everyone wanted.”
Ms Probst, who is not involved with the Facebook group and was assisting the owners, said everyone wishes to move on from the incident.
She said: “We have all made mistakes in the search and we should move on from it now.”