Welcome home Luna Luna, a rescue dachshund, was adopted two weeks ago. She was very nervous and was a breeding dog, very likely never to have been walked or taken outside, with no life experience.
On Monday 3 June, as owner was walking her on her lead and harness, Luna panicked when going through some metal gates and managed to get away with the lead still attached. This was at Alkrington Woods in Middleton. She bolted. Owner could hear the beeping of vehicles and it seemed she had run across the main road. There was no sign of her.
We were tagged in the post on Facebook and offered to help owner. We went through everything that the owner needed to do and not do. Searching being one of those not to do. It’s people’s first reaction to search. Lost dogs need to be allowed to settle and then when they start to move about and we get soghtings from posters in the area we then get to work placing feed stations, cameras and scent trails, working in a non threatening manner to the dog. This then leads to humanely trapping the dog or, if circumstances allow, coaching the owner with what to do to get their dog to come to them.
We always give the lost dog chance to make their way home the first night before jumping into action. However, Luna was nearly 3 miles away from home. She is a very nervous dog and newly adopted so we knew the chances of her trying for home were very small. We spent all of last night speaking to Luna’s owner with advice and reassuring her that the chances that Luna would be found were very high.
Our worse fear was that Luna was lost less than a fifth of a mile (0.191 m) from the motorway. It was so close and lost dogs have often been victims to motorways, especially when searched for and approached. But because Luna was allowed to settle and not searched for or approached, she was able to stay calm and safe. So this morning, around 10.15am, Luna was seen in a workshop not far from where she ran. She had got into the yard and hid under a bench. She was safely secured and they phoned owner. Luna is now safe at home and sleeping off her little adventure.
Thank you to Luna’s owner for trusting in us with our advice and instructions, to all those who shared her post, and to all those who did not search for or shout Luna. All of this kept her safe and because she was calm this morning she allowed herself to be gotten hold of when seen in the yard. Welcome home beautiful girl.
