An elated Scots family have spoken of their relief after being reunited with their missing dog in time for Christmas.
Rocky, a three-year-old Beagle, ran off after he was hit by a car near his home in Dunbeg, near Oban, on December 18. An army of volunteers carried out an all-night search for the pooch before he was finally found last week hiding in a garden two miles away.
The much-loved pet of Joshua Lopez, eight, and his sister Laila, 12, shot off with bleeding paws and over the hills towards Ganavan beach after he was spooked by the car accident.
The children’s mother Ailsa Lopez, 39, told our sister title, the Scottish Daily Express: “At Christmas time we like to get Rocky a gift and put it under the tree and I had thought, it would be just awful if he hadn’t come home, the kids would have been so upset. I was at work and Laila, who was at home, had let him out, but when she came back to the garden he wasn’t there.
“He is really fast, he is like a whippet, and when he gets the scent, his nose gets the better of him and he is off.”
Ailsa and her husband Donnie were phoned by a friend who had read on Facebook that Rocky had been hit by a car. The couple’s older son, Kieron, 20, went out with his dad to find the beloved pooch before they were joined by crowds of local residents.
The search party stayed out until the early hours with big deer lights in their hope of tracing Rocky. Ailsa is a member of Oban Mountain Rescue Team and said some of her friends in the team helped in an unofficial capacity.
Team member Damon Powell, said: “We don’t go searching for dogs as a rule, the reason we went out was that it was a team member’s dog, it was just a few friends and we just applied a bit more coordination to the search.”
But by the next morning there was still no sign of Rocky. Ailsa began to think of the worst before she was phoned by her husband.
She said: “Donnie phoned me in the afternoon and said a man in Ganavan had found a dog and said it was definitely Rocky as he had phoned the number of its collar. The dog was in his garden, hiding in the bushes, he said it had an injured leg and was scared and wouldn’t come near them. We went and when we got there, on the top of the hill, there were the two men from the house and they had hold of Rocky.
“He was wagging his tail and then he started crying – like with happiness – then we were all crying, I couldn’t believe we had found him. I was so relieved as I had been thinking the worst. I can’t thank the two gentlemen enough for finding him.”
The children were still at home, not knowing that their dog had been found, as their mum asked their dad not to say anything until they were certain everything was okay.
Mrs Lopez said: “Damon, one of my friends from the mountain rescue team, came in with the dog and the kids shouted ‘Rocky’s home’ and Rocky’s wee tail was wagging, it was so nice.”
A visit to the vet confirmed that Rocky was going to be okay despite his ordeal, even though his paws were bleeding, his claws were down to the quick and the back of his leg was scuffed.
Mrs Lopez said: “The vet thought the bleeding paws were caused by him running but he is on rest now. He is not allowed out just now but we have got an advanced tracker that he is going to keep on all the time, all day, every day. My husband and Kieron are going to build the fence up too, so he can’t escape again.”
She added: “To the people who were all out helping, I can’t thank them enough. I had so many kind words, from so many people, that’s what kept me going. They have all made my kids’ Christmas.”
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