A Welsh springer spaniel that went missing in the forests of Wales has been found after surviving almost 60 days in the cold wilderness.
Adam and Rachel Sergeant said they were taking 7-year-old Bea for a walk in the Conwy Valley on December 8 when she went missing, the BBC reports. The weather was “bad” that day, the couple said.
“We were in the woods and we came to an open area where there were sheep,” Rachel told the news outlet. “So we called the dogs to put them on a leash, but Bea didn’t come – she just disappeared.”
She added: “It was raining so hard you couldn’t tell the footpath from the stream in places.”
The BBC reported that Bea was reportedly seen over the next two months, but her pet parents remained concerned that the dog would not survive the winter in the weather.
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Photo of a Welsh Springer Spaniel in the water.
Mirceax / Getty Images
The Lost Dogs North Wales Area Facebook group helped the pair search for Bea, using tools such as a thermal camera and drones. The group also provided posters and organized searches to find the lost dog.
“Everyone was amazing; suddenly we had a support network – people who didn’t want to just give up,” Adam told the BBC, adding: “Knowing you’re not doing this alone makes a big difference — I can’t thank them enough.”
On Sunday evening, the farmer – who works 10 miles from where Bea was last seen – heard noises coming from the barbed wire fenced area. When he went to take a closer look, he saw a dog caught in the fence.
“I found Bea tangled up in a mixture of barbed wire and plain wire – the way she was caught, it looked like she’d been there for four or five days,” he told the BBC.
Since it was dark, it took the farmer about an hour to rescue Bea with the help of a flashlight on his phone. He said the spaniel was “amazing” and didn’t try to bite him.
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According to veterinarians, Bea was discovered in good health, although it is unclear how she survived so long in the wild.
“Our biggest concern was that she would struggle to fit into family life and might be aggressive towards the children or our other dog, Hatty,” Adam said. “But as soon as she came in, she was as usual – calm and gentle, even with our youngest son, who is almost two years old. We don’t think she will get lost again… but we have already ordered a GPS device to track her, for every case.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education