Max, upon having a firework aimed at him on New Year’s Eve, December 2022, bolted with his lead and harness still attached. His lead and harness was found later on under a parked car with the lead wrapped around a wheel of the car. He must have gotten caught up so he managed to free himself.
His owner contacted us the following day and I went there straight away and put a live camera up at the house as it was possible Max would make his way home once he settled. I thermal scoped some likely areas nearby but no sign of him. Max needed to settle and not be searched for or approached especially as he was in an area close to the railway, motorway and main roads.
Owner was advised not to search and to heavily poster the area. A laminator, laminating pouches and posters were provided. Food was also provided for the feed station as Max only eats dry food so owner didn’t have any. (Dry food is not suitable for a lost dog.) A few trips were made during the week to replace the powerbanks and deliver posters etc.
We continued to advise and reassure that Max would be okay and that searching must not happen or this would endanger him. We were asked to search but we refused to because we know what happens when people search. Luckily Max was in an area that had not been searched by others and therefore he was kept safe.
On New Year’s Eve, there were sightings of a dog of Max’s description on the main road that runs through Prestwich. He was seen heading towards the roundabout in between Prestwich and Whitefield and was seen on the Whitefield side. This was also the motorway junctions. We advised the owner on the first day of being in contact to poster along there but the owner concentrated on other areas due to certain circumstances that led her to believe Max was nearer Salford which was the opposite direction to where he actually was.
Today, Max’s owner started to poster the areas we had recommended. She got a phone call that some people had found Max in ‘the clough’ in Philips Park, Prestwich. He had some scratches and cuts which are likely to be caused by brambles. Otherwise he is okay. He’s been to the vets and has had a check up.
Max was likely to have gone to ground since last Saturday night when he ran (6 days ago). We told Max’s owner that it can normally take about a week before lost dogs are seen as they hide at first until they need to look for food. When a dog is lost it is very important not to search and to respect that the lost dog sees people as predators. Searching and approaching can and does endanger the lost dog. We wait until there are sightings (unless the situation depicts otherwise) and then use live cameras and feed stations to get the lost dog feeding. Then a humane trap is set. A lot of the time though this is not needed and the dog can and sometimes does just give himself up when he’s had enough. It seems that Max came out of his hiding place (which we call a safe place) today and luckily was spotted by these people.
Welcome home beautiful boy 
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