A Belfast dog lover has revealed she stayed on the Mournes Mountains for 36 hours searching for her lost Beagle after he vanished without trace on a walk.
Lynsey Ferris, 24, was enjoying a weekend with friends and her dog Finn, when their Saturday hike turned to disaster.
With no camping equipment, no weatherproof clothing and no sign of giving up her search, Lynsey stayed in the Mournes from Saturday afternoon to Sunday night.
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Today thankfully she is back home sun burnt and exhausted - and Finn, who is 18 months old is home too.
Finance professional Lynsey, 24, explained: “It was such a gorgeous weekend we decided the only place to be was the Mournes and we'd been up Meelmore with Finn many times so we knew our route and our timings about getting to the top and back down.
“I was with my friends Rob Bleakney and Niamh Fearon and we had Finn with us and the day was going really well. I always let Finn off the lead when there are no other animals or people around and he was right by our side.”
But as the group was heading towards the summit of Meelmore around 3pm, Finn suddenly picked up pace and vanished into the distance, and within minutes he was nowhere to be seen.
Lynsey said: “Rob ran after him but he just seemed to disappear. I was confident for a short while that he'd be back because he had never done anything like this before and he’s always by my side, just a few feet away.
“But he must have picked up a scent that was just too tempting to ignore and he was off like a shot. He'd never done anything like that before and I honestly expected to see him back at my side minutes later.
"But time ticked on and there was no sign of him so the three of us split up into different directions calling for him. There was no sight of him and even worse, no there was no barking either and he’s a pretty vocal dog, like a lot of Beagles.”
In desperation the group retraced their steps for six hours speaking to every walker they met, giving them descriptions of Finn and asking them to call them if they had any sightings.
Lynsey said: “People were fantastic and we got word out on social media and we had a lot of support. We searched on until 9pm and then Niamh had to get back to Belfast for 11pm for a shift.
"Rob and I went with her to grab food and got treats to try to lure Finn out and we gathered up some of his bedding and toys, and jumped into my car and headed straight back to Meelmore.
“We put a blanket on the ground where it had all started and called and called for him. We tried to tempt him to us with the scent of chicken but there was just no sign of him. I knew I just couldn’t go home without Finn but the search area was so vast, I tried to keep hopeful but I was worried to the very pit of my stomach.
“By 3am on Sunday it was very cold and we really weren’t prepared for it. Rob and I went back to the car to try to warm up but we just couldn’t settle and by 5am we were back out looking and calling for Finn.
“We set off again and walked as far as Donard and our other friend Catherine Finn joined us and she walked to Slieve Muck looking for him. So much was going through my head, some people said he might have been picked up by someone or stolen.
"And I worried that he might have fallen into something and got injured or stuck. I couldn’t understand why we couldn’t hear him barking or howling. Now I think he must have bunkered down somewhere in fear.”
After another day searching and with hope starting to fade, the friends gathered together again within a short distance of the Meelmore Lodge car park and set their blanket and food out again.
And that’s when a miracle happened.
Finn had appeared in the car park and a camper managed to get his own dog's lead clipped onto Finn's harness and keep him secure.
Lynsey explained: “We'd seen this man earlier and asked him if he had seen Finn, described what to look out for and then we made our way back onto the trails. Thankfully he contacted Lost Paws NI who were able to get a phone call through to me.
“I couldn’t believe it. We were within a few metres of the car park but on the mountain side of the stile because we knew Finn couldn’t get over the stile without help as we had gone up the walk on Saturday.
“But somehow he had managed it and the camper saw him walking around our cars pawing at them. He knew right away it was Finn and thankfully he called the lost and found group. That was when I cried. We gathered up everything we’d brought up to try to lure Finn back, and ran to the carpark and there he was as if nothing had happened.
“He had been on his own for 36 hours and we'd been frantic. He was very excited when he saw me, bouncing and yelping. He seemed to look a bit thin and gaunt and couldn’t wait to have something to eat and get in the car for a sleep.
"The man who secured him said he saw Finn literally saunter into the car park like it was an everyday event. But then he started sniffing and pawing at our cars and he knew it was Finn who was missing.
“It was a huge relief and I cried my heart out to have Finn back. We got home about 10pm on Sunday and we were just wrecked. I was sunburnt and exhausted from lack of sleep and food, and probably the worry too.
“The number of people who helped us and gave us support was incredible. My friends know how important Finn is in my life. I’ve had him since he was a puppy and he’s the centre of my world.
"So many people rallied to help in person or on social media. My friend Rob had been over from London to see his family and spent an afternoon on the walk with us, but it turned into a marathon to find Finn and he hardly saw his family at all but I’m so grateful to have had him there to help.
“So this is just a big thank you to everyone who helped or who wished Finn and the searchers well. It was a huge help knowing that we were able to get word out and that Lost Paws NI were there for us when Finn was found and secured.
“ Northern Ireland has a great community of dog lovers and now that I’ve got over crying with relief and had a sleep, I want to say thank you.
"Our walks up the Mournes are over for the moment and I'm looking for the best tracker device available before Finn and I have any more adventures."
