A missing dog who travelled miles across rivers and glens for more than two weeks has finally been reunited with its family thanks to volunteers who tracked it with drones.
Carrie Kemp, from Ballinluig near Pitlochry, had just arrived in Ibiza when she received a call to say that her beloved German Shepherd Rayne had run off from kennels on Sunday, October 6.
The mum-of-three immediately booked a flight home as she left her family on holiday to join the frantic search for the three-year-old pooch. A rescue team used live cameras, bait stations, drones and thermal scopes to try and track down Rayne, while volunteers on foot scanned areas with binoculars.
Despite various sightings in the Comrie area, nobody could catch the nervous canine. During the search Carrie camped out, slept in her car, and booked into B&Bs near where Rayne had been spotted.
She spent so much time tramping around the region that her feet were left bleeding from the amount of miles covered. But after 17 gruelling days, Rayne was finally captured on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Record, Carrie said: “When the message came in to say they got her I just couldn’t believe it. I felt totally overwhelmed, I was shaking like mad. I couldn’t believe we’d got her at last. She was jumping all over the kids, it was just amazing.
“Hundreds of people were involved in the search. The team at Missing Pets, Perth and Kinross, were amazing. They pulled all-nighters out in the van with the thermal scopes, putting food trails down.
“Locals were out looking every day and out searching with the thermal scopes. One of the volunteers even had an infrared drone – but we were always two steps behind her.
“Every time there was a sighting the adrenaline would kick in, but the area was just so vast that every time we arrived she’d moved on.”
High-tech equipment like drones and thermal scopes were vital in searches, giving a birds-eye view of the land, which helped with sightings and gave volunteers a better idea of routes the dog had taken and could still take.
It’s believed Rayne scavenged for food as she travelled dozens of miles across three glens near Crieff before she was found. On the night she was captured, volunteers carefully placed down traps after sightings had been made in the Comrie area.
Carrie, who works in admin, said: “The hardest thing for an owner is that they tell you not to go near her if there’s been a sighting, so as not to spook her. On the night she was found the volunteers placed down traps and we just waited for news.
“When she was finally captured I just couldn’t believe it was all over and we could finally take her home. Although she is very thin, wobbly at the back, and covered in ticks, scabs and scars – she is back barking away happily and playing with her toys. I never want to let her out of my sight again.”
Thermal scopes help search at a safe distance at night and will pick up the body heat of a missing dog. The Missing Pets team are fundraising for new equipment. To donate, click here.
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