An adorable miniature Jack Russell who went missing for seven days has been reunited with his owners, thanks to selfless volunteers who dedicate their time to locate lost dogs.
Little Louie, who weighs just 4kg, made his great escape on February 2 during his regular check up to the vet in Maybole.
The eight-year-old dog, who lives in nearby Kirkoswald with owners Yanie and Allan Brown and family, slipped his harness in the vets doorway and dashed off, resulting in a huge search party from kind strangers.
Owner Yanie was put in touch with Ayrshire Drone Dog Rescue (ADDR); an army of seven volunteers who help find lost pups across North, South and East Ayrshire in their spare time using drones, gadgets and humane traps.
Yanie said: “The guys at ADDR asked us to trust them and advised us to ask everyone to stand down from searching.
“Me and Allan looked at each other and thought ‘that can’t be right’, but we saw the huge success they have at getting dogs home, so we realised if we wanted our boy home we had to trust their advice and follow it to the letter- however hard it was.
“We were frantic with worry. It was just terrifying to come home, knowing you didn’t have him and he was still out there, especially because he doesn’t really know the area.
“But this group were so invested in Louie, in bringing him home.”
Yanie and Allan were loaned cameras, bait, a trap, and high tech equipment from ADDR in a bid to help locate Louie.
Allan finally caught sight of him on the seventh day and followed him into a garden, but was faced with a scared growling Louie who continued his attempts to flee.
“This was proof that he was still in flight mode and that he didn’t recognise us,” said Yanie.
“Allan followed the exact advice he was given by ADDR- sit down, don’t make eye contact and offer some food.
“Allan kept throwing little bits of food and lured him closer until he was close enough, and it was like a switch was flipped- Louie recognised him, he ate the food from his hand and climbed into his lap.
“We had him, our boy was coming home.”
Yanie has praised “the angels” at ADDR for reuniting little Louie with their family.
“Thanks to them Louie is now home and safe from his week long outdoor adventure and we couldn’t be more thankful,” she added.
Liz Milligan, ADDR lead volunteer who lives in Kilmarnock, was delighted to see a happy ending, as she admitted that isn’t always the case.
“We’re trying to raise awareness about what not to do if you see a dog, because that’s our biggest barrier,” she said.
“Never approach, chase or shout a dog who won’t willingly come to you.
“The reason for that is if a dog is in fight or flight mode, it’s got three things that it wants and that’s food/water, shelter and safety.
“It reverts back to its primal instincts, so basically it’s a wild dog and no longer your pet.
“The amount of people who say to me ‘oh there’s my dog, I’ll shout it’, and the dog looks at them and runs.
“When they’re in flight mode they look for somewhere quieter, which is usually a railway, a road or a river- and it doesn’t end well.”
ADDR rely solely on donations for their voluntary work, which sees volunteers balancing full time jobs alongside family life.
Liz, who has been a volunteer for seven years, said the job was “hard and stressful” but so rewarding seeing worried owners reunited with their beloved pooches.
“It’s heart-breaking but good when you get them in the end”, she said.
ADDR are currently fundraising for more equipment to aid their services.
Liz said: “A lot of people don’t realise what we give out to people who need it.
“One dog cost us £500 on food and traps, and we’ve got maintaining insurances for the drone; so we’ve got a lot of outlay without even having to kick a ball and people just don’t realise this.”
Visit https://www.facebook.com/AyrshireDDR for more advice, the first steps to take if your dog goes missing and for ADDR’s Amazon Wishlist.
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