Today we reveal how an elderly Belfast dog was rescued thanks to more than 100 volunteers searched for him over 100 hours in filthy weather after he was spooked by fireworks and knocked over by a van.
Duke was just one of many dogs who escaped from the safety of their home over the Halloween period and the group who helped to reunite him with his owner, catalogued the huge effort that went into the rescue.
Labrador Duke, escaped from his garden in Knock while his family were in England and spent four days on the run despite carrying an injury. As his owner made his way home to join the search, teams of friends and strangers gathered to help look for the dog who had been being minded by a family member at the time.
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Today as Duke recovers from his ordeal, his owner and the search organisers have sent thanks to everyone who stepped in to help.
A spokesperson for Lost and Found Pets North Down, explained how the : “Duke’s owner didn’t know Duke was missing until he saw him on our Facebook page. He was pretty shocked and asked us to help find his dog.
“Duke went missing on Friday night after being frightened by fireworks, and the following Saturday there were lots of sightings of him but no one could get close enough to him. Then this poor boy was hit pretty hard by a van but was spotted afterward so at least we knew at that stage he was alive and on his feet.
“On Saturday night we were out until well past midnight and although we had a sighting, Duke vanished very quickly. What chance did we stand of getting close to him at the weekend with all the fireworks going off?
“He was spotted again around 8am on Sunday morning near Cabin Hill School and near Upper Newtownards Rd and then nothing until Sunday night when he was seen for the second time in Abbey Gardens. At this stage our friends at Lost Paws NI Lost and Found Pets set up a food station and camera to try to coax Duke in.
“Another volunteer set up a Whatsapp group running for searchers and turnout was amazing with around 80 searchers initially and that number increased to well over 100 later on.
“By this stage we knew Duke would be very hungry, tired, cold and likely feeling the brunt of the van hitting him, so we split everyone up to go to different ends of the Greenway, up behind the Ice Bowl and others drove around the Kings Rd area, everyone with one mission, to help bring Duke home safely.
"We went to Abbey Park where a man had unlocked a gate to allow him through if he fled in that direction and while we were arriving there I got a call from to say one of the searchers had seen a black dog go into undergrowth nearby. So we rushed up with the torches and went into the undergrowth but there was no sign of Duke.
"Within five mins we had another person call to say a large black dog had run past him at South Sperrin so we got a lift back to our van and rushed towards the scene and then we got a call from a girl to say a black dog was up by the subway near Tullycarnet.
“So we had everyone head that way and when we arrived the caller’s little dog Otis had helped sniff out Duke in a garden, and the home owner had manged to close him in to keep him safe until we got lead on Duke.
“By now there were about 80 people on the bridge holding their breath in the hope of success - and the rest is history. After a fright, being hit by a van and being on the run for four days, big Duke was finally safe and taken to a vet for a check up. He needed some treatment to a wound and was later allowed to go home.
“The dedication of each and every person on the ground, those monitoring the messages coming into our page, the phone calls coming in and the prompt response of everyone who responded when they were asked to move their location so quickly, meant Duke was found and made safe.
"And of course the public who were in support both on the ground as arranged and those who just happened to be there at the right time, played an important part of this rescue. And we also need to thank the people who spotted Duke over the days and let us know immediately, and all the others who offered any help they could.
"Tracking and locating a frightened, stressed dog who is in unfamiliar territory, who is old and hungry and injured is no mean feat and it takes a lot of effort.
"So we are also sending a huge thank you to our friends Andrew and Nikita at Lost Paws NI - Lost and Found Pets for their help and support, to Tracey Douglas for all her help, support and experience, to Ali her hard work and dedication from start to finish. To Libby and our admin team for being on the ball with the calls of sightings and passing them on immediately, to all the searchers and spotters for their tireless dedication in getting this boy home.
"Also to all the locals for their help and support, to everyone who shared the posts and of course the biggest thank you goes to Otis for helping sniff Duke out - what a little star .
"And finally to our searcher who turned up with the smelly mackerel in the hope of enticing a hungry dog out of hiding, you stank and hope you got a power wash and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
"For anyone who doesn’t know how lost dogs are brought to safety, this is how we get them home - everyone, friends and strangers, working together, keeping calm with responding quickly to calls and sightings- it's all voluntary and it all done for the love of our truest friend, dogs."
