Success Stories

Members have sent us various Success Stories which we will list here:

Never give up on a lost one!

We take our two cats (two sisters) to Wales with us every other weekend. One day in June while on holiday at our caravan in Wales, Holly got scared and disappeared.
We thought she would come back later under cover of darkness but no signs.
They never stay out, both really, really timid, they were rescued as feral at three months old.
She is chipped but they don't have collars.

We put posters everywhere, shops, vets, and telegraph posts, put flyers to all the caravans, and local houses, including the local village, which is 1 mile away from where we stay.
Local papers, and web sites, and vets at home and between home and Wales in case she was travelling.
I knew no one could catch her but as time went on, my husband really thought we would never see her again.
We went round and put new posters up when the others had blown down. We walked round the caravan parks, and up the lanes for months, at least three times a day.

At the end of October we have to close our caravan...you can imagine how we felt. There had been no definite sightings of her, a couple of possible.

SEVEN months later, in January, came a call, from a couple in the village asking if she was still missing. They had seen her in and out of their garden shed, taken a bike ride to find our number and rang us.
We went down to Wales the day following the call, saw her, but she disappeared into the undergrowth.

Went the next weekend, in heavy rain, no sign. The third weekend I went, booked in a B&B to stay over.
I saw her in the garden opposite and slowly went to talk to her, and just sat for over four hours, in the garden talking to her, and giving her bits of food. Even went for a walk with her, I think she was showing me were she went from that garden, into the field, along the river, to the couple's garden shed. I finally managed to get close enough to make a grab and get a hold of her and put her in the carrier.

The B&B didn't charge me, they were so happy for us. The couple who rang us are both working police officers, and her husband was on duty at the time but she rang the station and a very loud cheer went up around the station!
Holly travelled back in the car, with no problems. We got home, she said hello to her sister, sidled round my husband for something to eat, and then curled up and fell asleep on me. It was as if she had never been away.

Pauline & Eric from Cheshire

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Hi there-you asked us to e mail a success story. We were reunited with our dog after a week and although he was badly injured and had to spend some time at our vets he has now made a full recovery! Sites like yours give a bit of comfort knowing that someone else is helping, so keep up the good work!

Yours
Mel  de Bruin

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Hi, 1 year ago today my husband & I flew to Melbourne where I was judging Golden’s at their club show and also in Tasmania, a 3+ week trip, after 10 days home we had to fly to Norway where I was judging at their 'Crufts equivalent show'

My very good friend, also with all her Golden’s from my breeding for 15 years, always looked after my girls, she had the 3 girls, my boy went to my daughter with his half brother. On the Monday before Norway she arrived distraught to tell us Megan had run away from her husband on Sunday afternoon on her walk, we talked Sunday pm but she didn't tell me as they thought they would find her!  If only they had, she always responded to the whistle and I am sure I could have found her, but 2 days later - nothing!   We swamped the area with press, radio, police, wardens, posters and us out there searching all hours.  Through yours and other dog lost sights, the word spread throughout the country and we had such a super response from all around. So many people walked looking for her and the support from people worldwide who couldn't was immense. She was micro chipped and the vets checked every day & knew she had not been checked so not hit by a car!
We were very fortunate, a chance call re a sighting from a local breed friend who I hadn't spoken to, whilst in Norway, saw her in a field next to the motorway, approx 5 -7 miles from where she went missing, this was the next Saturday, she wouldn't come and police moved her on from the hard shoulder  'only a dog to them' but she called my mobile and although nothing that day, they went out very early on the next day and she was sat next to the motorway waiting for them. She was badly scratched but because in good condition, not too thin but lots of cuts all over and had a few traumatic months with 'nightmares when asleep'  but we have had a litter and kept a bitch pup, 5 months now & they are best friends, Megan 'kills' her most days, I know now she is over her experience, We are not, other friends have offered to look after her next year if we want to go away, we haven't this year, know we cannot cope, need to think for next years!!!

Never give up hope, having dogs all my life, (59 yrs) 1st time of this ever,  they are survivors, be positive, just get so much publicity and flood the market with their photos etc, make them to hot to handle, the wardens, groomers and others so alike are watching always.  They will come back, I am sure.

Hope you all have the same positive outcome that we have had.

Love

John & Beryl

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Hi

I have a success story - not through lost your pet directly - but a success story just the same which I would like to share so that other owners do not give up hope.

We lost our much loved female tabby cat when she managed to escape from her pet carrier just as we arrived at the door of the cattery. She jumped the boundary fence and ran across the adjacent fields. The next two hours were spent trying to coax her out of nettles and ditches, but to no avail. We had to go on holiday knowing that she was lost in unknown territory. The owner of the cattery seemed quite hopeful that our cat would return after a couple of days to join our other cat and to get food. When we returned from holiday, no luck, there had not been any sightings of our beloved Mika.

We immediately pasted posters up around the village and surrounding areas, placed missing adverts in schools, shops, garages, pubs etc, even the local railway station.
Another month passed and not one phone call. We now feared the worst, we just hoped that if we did not see Mika again, she was living a comfortable life with another kind family who may have taken her in and who had not seen our plea for her return.

Just as we had given up hope we received a call to say that a cat, meeting her description, had been spotted eating food placed in a garden for hedgehogs. She wasn't far from the cattery from which she had escaped. When we got to the address though, she had vanished. We called her name and walked the fields and lanes, not a sound or sighting. The following day, the same lady rang to say Mika had been seen again, this time eating chicken feed from a nearby small holding. Again we went to try and find her, but again nothing. This saga continued for another two weeks until one of the sightings led to fruition. This time, another lady from the opposite end of the village had seen her eating bread off the bird table and had put some dog food out for her. It was eight hours later when we got the message off the answer phone, but never the less we went to the area she had been seen, called her name a couple of times and then heard the familiar meow we had been longing to hear for the last several weeks. Mika ran up the lane pleased to see us, starving and ready for plenty of attention.

She had a few grass seeds stuck in her fur and was a little underweight, but other than that she was fine. She had survived almost two months living wild.
She is not the friendliest of cats with strangers and so was not as likely as some to just find another home, this was our worry, that she was not managing to get fed. But it just shows that they will survive off what little they can find and they will find shelter and keep themselves out of harm. Now a few weeks on, she has regained her lost weight and its like she was never away.

So even if a few weeks have gone by, keep returning to where you last know your pet was and call for them. Keep the posters going up, maybe add to them a little further afield. We walked miles up and down the same fields and lanes for weeks feeling as though the search was in vain, but our cat must have been close by each time we were there as she was then seen by two or three of the villagers not far from her site of escape.

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Hi,

Several things I did to help get my cat back was to put out food and water for him and to walk around the area by my apt where he was lost calling his name. I also used pine litter and put some of this out to give him his scent in area. I put out clean and used litter as both have a scent he can recognize. Put out items with your scent on them such as recently worn socks. Cats are often shy so might only come out when it was quiet.  Especially at night cats can be more active so call and look for them at that time as well. Get your pets used to hearing their name and maybe use a bell or distinctive sound just before you feed them so they get used to it.

Look for a lost pet in areas you don't think they would go but could have gotten into, such as a storm drain, garbage bin or open garage. In the colder months cats will go somewhere warm such as under a car and maybe up into it. Put up a lot of flyers in the area with pictures and if your community has a bulletin or website post there. Pictures help a lot to ID your pet. List the lost pet with pictures on Craigslist or something such as this. Be careful responding to these sites. It helps to say reward offered but don't state the amount. Always have your pets ID chipped in case a collar falls off. There are safety collars for cats and dogs that light up at night and you can have a phone number put on them. Say on the collar or ID tagged that the pet is lost so folks know it should not be outdoors. Check local shelters and put up flyers in local pet stores and grocery stores. Check local and emergency vets in the area. Put up flyers on their information boards as well. Say a lot of prayers too and don't give up hope! Good luck!

Lori C. Washington, America

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If you have a success story from a lost your pet experience that you would like to share please tell us, so we can show it on this page. Thank you.

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