The Barking Blondes: Lost Dogs
Many films and works of fiction have been based on the tear-jerking scenario of a lost dog making its way home.
Well how about this to tug on the old heart strings?
A Labrador cross who covered 120 miles before being reunited with its owner?
Howard Hughes, a reporter from BBC Radio Berkshire, contributed to our dog radio show this week with a fascinating story of the plucky dog that slipped its collar whilst out on a walk and bolted.
Missing and lost for three months, he was finally found, after several sightings, 120 miles away from home in Dorset.
His journey must have been intrepid as it was apparent he had been attacked by foxes and in need of urgent vet attention. Emaciated and stressed, the dog, remarkably, made a full recovery and was eventually reunited with his owner in Berkshire.
For the rest of the show we were then inundated with calls about losing dogs. The recurrent story was always about beloved pooches who somehow managed to find their way home. Often after owners had given up any hope of their reappearance.
We’ve discussed the extraordinary capacity of all animals, especially dogs, to find their way home with paranormal scientist Dr Rupert Sheldrake. In his book ‘Dogs that Know When Their Owners are Coming Home’, he talks about all aspects of the sixth sense – telepathy, sense of direction, and premonition.
He maintains that dogs have an in-built ‘Sat Nav’ system that can navigate them back home from almost anywhere. Landmark doggy novels like ‘Lassie Come Home’ and ‘The Incredible Journey’ are based on thousands of true cases such as these. Lassie’s story recounts how, against all odds, she makes her way home, with death defying courage, to Yorkshire from the Scottish Highlands.
In “The Incredible Journey”, a Labrador, Siamese cat and a Bull terrier make their way home across the Canadian wilderness. This movie, like “Lassie Come Home “ starring Elizabeth Taylor, is a timeless classics, striking a chord and highlighting the humbling loyalty of man’s best friend.
Both novels were written long before the invention of the microchip. If the dog from Berkshire had been chipped, he would have got home sooner. In April 2016, microchipping will become mandatory in the UK. With approximately only a third of dogs chipped today, compulsory chipping should reduce the number of missing dogs. Tracking down their rightful owner will be massively simplified, providing the doggy welfare infrastructure commits to routine and thorough scanning. Surprisingly dogs aren’t as routinely scanned as you’d expect.
There’s many a story of a lost dog in a rescue centre, despite being chipped – sometimes a chip can be missed as they often ‘migrate’ around the body. VetsGetScanning headed by Bruce Forsythe’s daughter Debbie Matthews campaigns for vets and rescues to routinely scan. They’re behind a new device called the Halo scanner that automatically sends out an alert if that dog is reported missing- so that vets could intervene if they suspect a dog has been stolen.
We like the old fashioned dog ID tag as it means someone can easily dial a mobile, apart from being a groovy accessory……… it’s unlawful not to have a tag on a dog’s collar.
Barking Blondes by Jo Good & Anna Webb, published by Hamlyn, £12.99www.octopusbooks.co.uk
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