When the call came through, Katie Ward burst into tears. Her new dog, Charm, had vanished at a motorway service station while she was taking her home for the first time, and Ms Ward feared the worst.
A few days later, her phone rang. But far from confirming that the animal had been involved in an accident, the caller said Charm had been recovered safe and sound and was ready to go home.
With a surge of people deciding to get a puppy as company during lockdown, as well as a growing number of dogs being stolen, the services of the volunteers have never been in such demand.
Jill Trick, 61, from Swansea, was inspired to get involved seven years ago after seeing a social media post about a dog that had gone missing in Manchester.
Missing Dogs Team Wales co-ordinator Jill Trick is on hand to help worried owners (Photo: Jill Trick)
Now a co-ordinator for Missing Dogs Team Wales, she explains that owners can contact the group on Facebook about their pooches, before speaking to the team over the phone to give them the necessary information.
The first action – which can be done in minutes – is typically a social media poster, which Missing Dogs Team Wales will then encourage group members to share as widely as possible.
If there is no progress within 24 hours, the team will look into sending out printed posters to the owner so they can put them up in their local area.
Ms Trick says that domestic dogs tend to go missing more often than they are stolen but adds that there has been a noticeable spike in thefts over the past year.
“I would say over the seven years that I’ve been involved, last year was the worst,” she says. “It’s sickening.”
A lot of the team’s time is taken up simply by dogs that have gone missing by accident, though, such as getting lost while out on a walk.
‘Scenting is very important’
In these cases, the animals can often be found within 24 hours, especially if owners leave out items of unwashed clothing or bed sheets, also known as “scenting”.
“Scenting is very important,” says Ms Trick. “Owners will always run around searching, but the dog will always remember the last place it was with its owner.
“The dog is running around blind, it’s got nothing familiar, it’s in an area that’s vast – but that simple item of clothing, the dog knows that’s its owner, that’s its scent and it will stay close. We’ve had many dogs come back like that.”
Scenting is most useful if the dog has gone missing in the area close to its home. For wilder areas of countryside, wildlife cameras and drones can play a crucial role in locating dogs in spots that volunteers on the ground might not be able to access.
While the time a dog is missing can be very distressing, says Ms Trick, it is more than compensated for by the joy of a reunion.
‘She had her harness on, but slipped it off and ran’
Katie Ward, a health visitor from Basingstoke, Hampshire, was helped by Missing Dogs Team Wales when her corgi, Charm, went missing a year ago.
Charm the corgi is now safely back and settled (Photo: Katie Ward)
Ms Ward, 49, lost Charm, who was a one-year-old at the time, just hours after collecting her from a breeder in Wales.
“We stopped off at the Swansea services on the M4,” she recalls. “She had her harness on, and her collar and lead, and she slipped it and ran off.
“She ran on the motorway, [then] off the motorway. There was a hole in the fence between the railway line and the services – she ran in between there and just basically hid.
“Your heart is in the bottom of your boots. You’re just running continuously, trying to think: Who do I need to phone, who do I need to contact, how can I get help?”
As well as contacting the dog warden and local police, Ms Ward published a post on social media that was picked up by the Missing Dogs team.
They were with her in around 20 minutes and worked with service station staff to set up some of Charm’s bedding and some food in an overturned bin.
Jill Trick and her fellow volunteers then spent hours looking for Charm after Ms Ward had to leave to get back to her children.
Katie Ward with her dog, Charm (Photo: Katie Ward)
“She was constantly in contact with me; she was amazing,” says Ms Ward. “Then she went down one night and Charm was just sitting there, waiting for them.
“It was absolutely phenomenal, you can’t describe it, the total and utter dedication and the things they do out of the goodness of their own hearts.
“When I got that phone call saying: ‘You’ll never guess who I’m sitting next to,’ all these photographs came through, and I burst out crying.
“It was totally surreal – something you couldn’t believe was actually going to happen. I thought that was it, I was waiting for a phone call from the railway to say actually she got hit by a train, or from the police to say we’re sorry but she went back on the motorway.”
Thankfully, Charm went on to settle in well at home after her four-day ordeal, quickly making friends with Ms Ward’s three Labradors.
“She’s our family pet and she wouldn’t have been that if it hadn’t been for Jill and her team,” she says.
Finding a stolen dog can prove much more difficult – but even in these cases there is reason to be hopeful.
Ms Trick recalls the recent case of a dog called Winnie, who was stolen from her owner’s home in Port Talbot. “She thought she heard a car door slam and thought somebody may have pinched her car. When she went to check, the car was there but Winnie wasn’t.
“Panic set in, obviously. Winnie was her baby… everybody was trying to help and it was a very sad situation.”
‘Icing on the cake’
It wasn’t until five months later that Winnie was reunited with her owner. She had been taken to a vet after being found wandering on her own hundreds of miles away, in Surrey.
“It was just the icing on the cake of last year,” says Ms Trick, adding that every time a dog is found it’s “like the first one”.
“It’s not like: ‘Oh this one’s all right, what’s next’,” she says. “There’s always going to be a next, but every time we’re all thrilled.
“Even if it was missing only an hour or two, we’re happy because that dog is home and we know that it’s not been stolen.”
‘She leapt into my arms – I was sobbing’
Lynn Hillier, from Carmarthenshire, was helped by Jill Trick and Missing Dogs Team Wales when her toy poodle cross Lexie went missing in 2019.
Lexie, who was three at the time, went missing from Ms Hillier’s garden as she was bringing her dogs back into the house.
Lynn Hillier’s dog Lexie, who went missing in 2019 (Photo: Lynn Hillier)
Some passers-by told her they had seen a dog running up the road, possibly herded on further by a car, which may have scared her.
“I searched all night, I couldn’t sleep,” says Ms Hillier, a retired graphic designer and illustrator.
Ms Hillier reported Lexie as lost on social media and a friend suggested she get in touch with Ms Trick and her team.
Two days later, Ms Hillier received a phone call at 10pm from a man living six miles away who had heard about Lexie via social media and believed he may have spotted her.
Ms Hillier got in the car with her two grandchildren to search the area and call for Lexie.
Lexie, right, has now been reunited with her sister Siri (Photo: Lynn Hillier)
She was sitting in the car on the phone to Ms Trick when her eight-year-old grandson suddenly spotted a pair of eyes – they had found Lexie.
“I got out of the car and she just leapt into my arms,” says Ms Hillier now. “I was just sobbing.
“I just couldn’t believe it. She was running down the road – she must have heard me calling.”
For dogs that are stolen, owners can be left facing a “heartbreaking and extremely distressing situation”, says the RSCPA.
Anyone who suspects their dog may have been stolen should immediately alert the police, contact their microchip company to register their pet as stolen and inform local rescue groups and vets.
The animal welfare charity says that all owners should take extra precautions to help keep their dogs safe, including:
:: Don’t leave your dog outside a shop or in a car on its own. :: Neuter your pet, as this can reduce the likelihood of roaming. :: Teach your dog a reliable recall for when you are out walking. :: Check your garden to make sure it is secure and, if you have a gate, fit it with a lock. :: Make sure your pet is wearing a collar with an ID tag and that it is up to date. It is a legal requirement for a dog to have an ID tag with your name and address on it. :: Microchip your pet (below) and keep the details up to date so that if your pet does go missing or is stolen, there is a higher chance they can be reunited. It is a legal requirement to have your dog microchipped in England and Wales.
