Gino reunited with owner after 24 hour search
26 May 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Gino, a nervous young dog has been reunited with his very relieved owner who searched for him day and night after he slipped his lead while on a walk in Valley Park, Cramlington.
Gino, a one year old, labrador cross rescue dog who belongs to Hannah Blakey, a local auxiliary veterinary nurse, spooked while on a walk early on Tuesday morning. He managed to break free from his leader, running off across Moor Farm roundabout before being spotted in fields between Cramlington and Seghill.
Worried friends, family and local residents turned out to help look for the missing dog, and one of Northumberland County Council’s Animal Welfare Officers joined the search party in the early afternoon after she became aware of the situation.
The officer has years of experience of tracking down missing dogs and knows how they think when they are lost and afraid, so she quickly made a plan of action.
“ I knew that Gino loved other dogs so I brought along one of my rescue dogs Stanley. We searched for hours but I knew Gino was nervous and would have been hiding as there were lots of people out and about enjoying the outdoors. ” she said.
“ At dusk we laid scent trails while the owner settled down for a night of sleeping in her car.
“ I left the owner at about midnight and set my alarm for 4am as that’s when I knew we would have to set in motion the next stages of the plan if he hadn't been caught.
“ I got Hannah to set up a camping stove and cook in the woods to try and entice him out for breakfast. Unbeknown to us at the time, he was enjoying breakfast at the scrap yard just around the corner!”
Gino was sighted again at 7am by local walkers in the fields and had managed to make his way back to Valley Park.
“ I met Hannah there at 8am where we separated off to search in different directions, giving everyone the same guidance of how to act if they saw the dog in flight mode.
“ Gino came out from the woods a short time later and as instructed Hannah lay on the floor. Thankfully Gino ran over to her when he picked up her scent, unharmed and very pleased to be back with his owner. Thankfully this story has a very happy ending.”
Hannah said: “It was a terrible feeling to lose Gino. As time went by I became more and more worried but having the help and reassurance from the dog warden really helped to keep me positive.
“ I honestly can’t thank everyone enough for giving up their time to help and support me with the search. Friends, family, old faces and even strangers responded to my Facebook post and offered their help.
“ I hadn’t met Fergus Black before this week but he responded to my online plea for help and turned up to assist with the search and stuck with me throughout, keeping my spirits up. I sincerely thank him for his incredible help and support which kept me going at my lowest point.”
If you have lost or found a dog please remember to contact Animal Welfare Officers on 0345 600 6400.