Sally, a Kokoni, a rescue dog from Cyprus, managed to escape from where she was being looked after while her owners were away on Thursday 20 July. This was in Walmersley in Bury, BL9. We were contacted by Sarah, her owner, the following day and asked to help. We were, at the time, extremely busy with the abandoned dog in Bolton and was only able to advise at the time.
Sally was at first sadly searched for and chased by people out looking for her and she ran and ran. She was then seen in Summerseat. She made her way back to Walmersley the day after. Her home was less than 2 miles away and owners kept the door to the house open throughout hoping she would make her way home.
On Sunday we were able to then help and set up feed stations around the area of sightings. Posters were printed and laminated ready to go up. Danielle saw Sally herself that day running across the road. Then Danielle’s mum saw her the following day. Such a small world!
Over the next few days sightings were minimal and when some people saw Sally their first reaction was to try to catch her and get her safe. However this made Sally run and so she could not settle.
We heavily postered the area not only so we could get sightings of Sally but to also try to warn people not to approach her. We needed her to settle so we could capture her safely.
On Monday 24 July we received a sighting of Sally near Birtle on Sale’s Ln. Then on Tuesday she was seen again in the area. We postered and set up feed stations there too but she didn’t appear on remote camera.
Sally was not seen after that for over 24 hours until a sighting came in on Castle Hill Rd in Birtle on Wednesday. She was also seen on Elbut Ln. We again postered that area and set up more feed stations.
On the 26 July at 11.40pm, Sally showed herself at one of our feed stations back on Walmersley Rd. She had certainly covered some miles for such a tiny dog no bigger than a chihuahua!
Today, Thursday 27 July, we set up the humane trap where she had been seen feeding on our camera. Lots of appetising food was placed inside it including roast chicken. Sarah’s unwashed recently worn clothing was also put inside the trap. At 6.30pm, Sally appeared at the trap and circled it a few times. She showed a lot of interest in Sarah’s clothes that was in the trap. Then she went in but only half way and started to smell the clothes, pawing at them. She showed no interest in the food. She had obviously been finding her own food and wasn’t hungry. Then she came straight out of the trap after only spending a few seconds in there and not going right to the back where she needed to be for the trap door to close safely.
After 40 minutes of Sally circling the trap, entering it for a few seconds, not showing interest in the food and then sitting and lying down on the grass near to the trap, we made the decision and phoned Sarah, her owner, knowing she wasn’t far from the trap area, and asked her to go and sit just outside the trap area. We instructed her not to talk or call Sally’s name, and not to look at her but to sit still. Sarah did just that, sitting on the grass sideways to the trap area. She could see Sally from the corner of her eye poke her head from the foliage and look at her. Slowly Sally walked towards Sarah. Then she knew it was Sarah and jumped into her arms! 
. Welcome home Sally 
. No more of these adventures or expeditions for you, you are grounded! There were lots of happy tears and Sally’s family came as they had been waiting in the car further down the road. Sally was so happy to see her family and proceeded to kiss them all. She is perfectly fine and doesn’t seem to have lost any weight in the 7 days she was out there. Such a brave, resourceful little girl! She crossed busy main roads over and over again. She found shelter and food. She managed to keep herself safe and Sally’s owners were an absolute pleasure to work with, listening and acting on everything that we advised.
. Welcome home Sally . No more of these adventures or expeditions for you, you are grounded! There were lots of happy tears and Sally’s family came as they had been waiting in the car further down the road. Sally was so happy to see her family and proceeded to kiss them all. She is perfectly fine and doesn’t seem to have lost any weight in the 7 days she was out there. Such a brave, resourceful little girl! She crossed busy main roads over and over again. She found shelter and food. She managed to keep herself safe and Sally’s owners were an absolute pleasure to work with, listening and acting on everything that we advised.Happy 50th Birthday to Sally’s Mum, Sarah! Sally knew she had to be home today xx
xxThank you so very much to Angela and Brian for allowing us use of your garden for the feed station and trap, to Danielle’s mum’s friend for use of your garden for a feed station, to Sale’s Farm for use of your garden for a feed station, to Castle Hill Farm for use of your grounds for a feed station, to Victoria for allowing us to put a feed station in your garden, and to Park Farm for the same above. Thank you to everyone who phoned Sally’s sightings in which are what started the process of getting her safe. And thank you to everyone who saw Sally and, after seeing the posters, did not approach her or try to catch her. You kept her safe thank you .
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