Stanley, a Maltipoo, ran from his dog walker in Drinkwater Park, Prestwich, M25, on Friday 4th October 2024. Initially, his owners and others searched until we were contacted to help on Saturday evening. We asked that searching be stopped immediately as lost dogs react badly to searching and feel threatened. It can push them out of the area or worse.
We had a handful of sightings which were not confirmed but all we had to work with. Posters were put up where he went missing and at the sightings and more went up everyday covering a large area. A live camera was put at the front of the house incase he made his way home. The worry about him making his way home was that he had to cross the motorway by bridge. And of course it was a huge worry that he would try crossing the actual motorway so we had to tread very carefully.
We had another sighting near to Prestwich Hospital but it was 2 days later before we were contacted. Feed stations and live cameras went up near to this sighting as, although not confirmed it was Stanley, it seemed likely due to certain factors. This was on Sunday 6th October.
Today, just after we had discussed the route Stanley was likely to take to get over the motorway, his owner had a phone call to say that he had been seen crossing the bridge on Outwood Trail. This was the quieter bridge and one that we thought Stanley would take. The person still had Stanley in sight so owners headed there immediately. The rest is history! Stanley was happily reunited with his family 
.
Stanley had been trying to get home and was in fact only 0.7 miles away when he was seen by the person who phoned with the sighting. Luckily it all ended well and Stanley didn’t have to make the final part of his journey to home .
Stanley has managed, for the past 6 days, to stay mostly hidden and has, as all lost dogs do, managed to look after himself. He was allowed, by not searching, to settle and gain confidence to make his journey home. He has been to the vet and given a clean bill of health and is now happily home with his family .
Thank you to his family for listening to us and acting upon our advice. You have done Stanley proud and it has been lovely to work with such a receptive family who put Stanley first.
