Bindi’s Success Story June 2024

💞 Welcome home beautiful Bindi 💞
Bindi, a 13 year old Jack Russell, escaped from a garden where she was staying while owner was away. This was on the morning of Monday 24th June in Rochdale OL11. We were contacted to help later that day. We set up a remote camera at the house and did a scent trail to help her to get back to the house (she had stayed there several times before). The house door was left open ready for her return. Posters were put up. .
Bindi didn’t appear at the house that night so the following day we set up feed stations strategically placed as best we could without having any sightings of her except when she first ran. The plan being to get her feeding on camera so we could them humanely trap her or work with her family getting her to go to them. We thermal scoped the area but there was no sign of her. The day she escaped, including the following two days, were really hot at 27 degrees and besides the river and canal there was no water source. To get to the water of the river would involve falling in as it was set quite far down from the ground. This was a real worry including the canal. So we placed several bowls of water around the area to try to keep her away from those two water sources. More posters were put up. There were no sightings that day.
On Wednesday, two days later, we got a sighting called in. Bindi had been seen a little bit further away from the area the night before. Then another sighting that afternoon near to where she had escaped from. More feed stations were put up in the area with the first sighting and remote cameras and the area was thermal scoped but she didn’t appear. Even more posters were put up.
Then, on Thursday, there was another sighting of her near to where she escaped from. Only one sighting and then no more. One of our feed stations was placed near the canal which wasn’t far from where she had escaped from.
On Friday 28 June, 5 days after Bindi ran off, she was seen on the other side of the canal opposite from where our feed station was. She had picked up the scent of the food. This area was not accessible to pedestrians but a man happened to see her stood there. He didn’t approach her but phoned in with the sighting while he was still there. Because he didn’t threaten Bindi by approaching her, and totally ignored her, Bindi didn’t move away. She then eventually made her way to this man and allowed herself to be caught ❤️. 5 days lost, 13 years of age and only 3 sightings in a very busy area. Now safe and sleeping her adventures off ❤️.
Bindi has been to the vets for a check up and although her back legs are stiff she is absolutely fine. She was already on pain relief for arthritis but obviously hadn’t had it for 5 days. She has done so well looking after herself out there and staying safe. Especially in that heat and with her age.
The smell of the food at the feed station drew her to where she was seen today but she couldn’t get across to it which is why she hadn’t been at the feed stations. She had been allowed to settle and feel confident, not looking at people as predators because she hadn’t been approached and by the man not approaching her she then approached him wanting help. This is how the whole process works with what we do. Posters and posts online pleading with people not to search or approach, allowing the dog to settle and their fear not being added to by people, they stay safe because they have been allowed to settle and not hunted, then they either find the feed station and be trapped or, because they are now not frightened as they have not had the experience of being hounded by well meaning people, go to someone (usually the owner but in this case Bindi’s age made her give herself up more easily as she will have struggled out there more than a younger dog, the heat will have exhausted her never mind that she’s had to fend for herself). She’s a very brave clever girl.
This is why we are so passionate about people not searching and approaching etc. We have seen it happen so many times where a dog becomes loose and that dog is frightened all of a sudden being out there alone in a very strange world (when with their family they don’t look at it the same and obviously feel safe) and added to that are people who are searching and chasing the dog. The dog manages to get away and starts to calm down a little bit only for someone else to chase them so the dog runs again. They manage to hide somewhere safe then people searching start to threaten the dog even more . The dog feels hunted and people to the dog are predators. In a dog’s mind they are in great danger from these predators. So they again run. And it’s a vicious circle until the dog runs in front of a vehicle. Or they find a railway that to them is safe from people. They find that people can’t get to them there. Or they go onto a motorway as again, to them there are no people. They have even been known to jump into rivers in order to get away. Countless dogs have been killed like this. Too many to count. People ask why not search? This is why we are like we are against searching. We’ve had our hearts broken several times. We’ve worked our socks off to get a dog safe only to then be met with the dog’s death. But every time owner’s and the public listen to us and follow our advice the dog is allowed to settle and calm down, become more confident and can then be caught, just like Bindi. The only time lost dogs have been killed are when they’ve been searched for and chased. Please don’t ever search for (unless the dog is likely to be stuck somewhere) or chase a lost dog.