Joy as runaway dog returns

Rod Chinn and his dog Jack, who were reunited after the Parsons Jack Russell went missing for nearly three weeks

Rod Chinn lost his Parson Jack Russell near the Ashridge Estate monument last month, when something spooked the animal.

He ran into the undergrowth an didn’t come back, leaving the desperate octagenarian looking for ways to return him safely home.

Three weeks passed by, and despite an appeal in this newspaper the eight-year-old dog, named Jack, has still not been found.

But he was found safe and well thanks to a bit of quick thinking and an early-morning raid.

Mr Chinn said: “Three ladies were helping me and we were working to a strategy to look for Jack.

“But then we came up with the idea of getting up really early yesterday (Sunday) and changing our tactics.

“They got up very early, and we picked him up and now I have him back, thank you very much.”

He added: “I’m sure that putting the story in the paper helped, because it meant that more people would be out there looking for him, as a result we heard of a few sightings which kept our spirits up.”

And Sharon Spencer, one of the ladies who helped to find the lost pup, took to the Everything Berko Facebook page to share her story.

She said: “We set up a feeding station the last few days by where he has been spotted.

“No sighting of him yesterday so we decided to go early this morning (Sunday) before it got busy with visitors to the monument area.

“We were just about to go back to car and try again later when Linda Roads who was with me spotted him a couple of feet away curled up in a ball. She managed to get a bit nearer and put the lead over him . Hey presto at 7,30am he was rescued!

“His owner was overwhelmed. This would never have happened without the support and sighting from you the public and Jackie and Hazel from Doglost who have supported us all the way, thank you so much everyone.”

And despite his three weeks in the wilderness, Jack is looking surprisingly well.

Mr Chinn said: “He’s lost a bit of weight but it suits him, he has assured me that he won’t do it again and if he does he will do it somewhere we can find him more easily.”