Missing dog found alive after spending six years in the woods
A dog missing for more than six years was found alive and well after living wild in the woods.
Rose, a black Patterdale terrier, was discovered by a rescue team nearly seven years after running away from her family.
The 12-year-old dog survived just six miles away from her home, where she ate food left out for badgers and was known as the local stray.
The team at Lost Dog Recovery UK South received a call from a passerby who spotted her and they organised a stake out of the area to uncover the truth.
Nicki Scriven, 41, has been working with the not-for-profit company for ten years and was involved in the rescue mission.
She said: ‘It came to light that someone had been feeding her for what they said was ten years and turned out to be six-and-a-half.
‘She was their stray feral dog that they were feeding, and the main lady involved agreed that the dog needed to be caught. She felt very guilty for not doing anything before now.’
After luring Rose into a metal cage with chicken, the team managed to rescue her and get her medical treatment – where they discovered a microchip.
After a thorough search they found Rose’s owners on Facebook and got to tell them the glorious news that she was still alive and well.
Sadly, due to a change in circumstance, Rose’s family won’t be able to take her back, so she will be going into rescue again.
The family only had Rose for 24 hours when she ran off and disappeared, and have since moved away.
Nicki said: ‘It is upsetting but at the end of the day we need what is right for Rose and she will need rehabilitating and reassessing before she could go back to a home anyway.
‘It is sad that she hasn’t got owners to go to but she is still going to be okay so it is okay.’
On a Facebook post the company wrote: ‘After the initial shock, our absolute joy at finding a long-lost dog is tinged with sadness as there is no “happy reunion” for Rose; she never got the chance to know the love of her family.’
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