I promised I would give more details of how Stefan was found, once I heard them. Simone, a wonderful ACE volunteer has now posted the full story on the Dutch blog. I’ve had to rely on Google Translate, so I may well have got some of it completely wrong. Please feel free to correct me if this is the case. I have also shortened it, as the translation is in places gobbledegook
On 4th February Simone, her husband and son picked Stefan and four other dogs up at Brussels airport. After much delay due to weather conditions they set off for Eersel, where the first dog was delivered to its delighted adopters. Then on to Herogenbosch to bring Stefan to his new home while the other car went off with the other two dogs. Simone had done the home visit and now she could bring Stefan himself. Because he was such an anxious dog they kept him in his crate in the lift. Once in the flat they let him out but he immediately hid under the table. This was only to be expected. She had already discussed this with Annemie, who had adopted Stefan. They agreed that Annemie wouldn’t rush him, but take it slowly, giving him a few days to recover.
The following day Simone got a call from Annemie to say that Stefan had escaped. They were just going out with him, when a big dog rushed at him, Stefan was so frightened he bolted, still with his collar and lead attached. If it got caught it might make it easier to catch him. The danger is that if he got stuck, with nobody around, he could be trapped. But he’s a smart dog, so hopefully he’d be able to bite the lead off.
They searched all day, all very upset. Simone promised she’d come next day to search, as she’s about 5 km away. With her son, Annemie and other friends they searched all afternoon. Annemie lives on a very large park where there is a great deal of water, which was completely frozen - the temperature was -20. After looking there they concentrated on the residential area – shrubs, porches, fire lanes. Simone says she’d never seen so many paw prints in the snow. At one point there was the trace of paw tracks going out onto the ice. They didn’t return. They found nothing in the bushes. After 3 hours of searching in the bitter cold they had to return home.
That night it was -16. Slowly you start to fear that the poor little creature will have frozen to death. Annemie refused to give up hope and leafleted the area, pushing them into letterboxes and hanging posters everywhere. Every morning before she went to work Simone drove through the area to see if she could spot him, and again in the evening. In the meantime Annemie too was spending hours searching, getting more and more desperate.
Then, on Saturday 11th February there was a phone call to say that people had seen the dog, walking along the road. This was 3 km away from his adopted home. Annemie went immediately but Simone was at work and couldn’t come until the next day. On Sunday 12th Annemie got another call, this time from a security guard who had seen Stefan. The man had tried to catch him but Stefan was too fast for him. Simone and her husband searched all afternoon in the car, but with no luck. Annemie put up more leaflets and posters. She went to a psychic who told her Stefan was hiding on a farm. Annemie went to the farm and watched for him. The farmer took her around the barns, but there was no trace of Stefan.
The search continued. There was an occasional sighting. The weekend of 18th there was nothing, no sign of Stefan. Then on Tuesday 21st a lady called to say that Stefan was stuck in her garden. Her husband went to try to release him but he fled. This sighting raised their hopes – more posters and pamphlets were put around. There were other farms in this area and a farmer called to say that he suspected that Stefan was sheltering in one of his barns. Annemie set up a watch and established that he had indeed been sleeping there. He’d made himself a nest and he’d not starved as the farmer threw down scraps so he had enough food.
Annemie looked all over, but again with no result. She called Simone on the Wednesday and they agreed to get a large group together and comb the entire area – this would be done on the Sunday, as everyone had to work before that. In the meantime Annemie continued searching on her own. On Thursday she covered the area with no result. Then in the afternoon came the all-important call. She rang Simone to say that Stefan had been found. He was stuck under a trailer with his lead caught up in something. People released him but held onto him. The animal ambulance took him home and Annemie had a neighbour with her, ready to help in case Stefan ran. But he was tired out and fell asleep next the radiator.
Simone arrived with champagne, the advantage she says of working in a liquor store. They toasted Stefan’s return. He looked at them as if to say ‘who are you?’ but wasn’t shy. He had obviously had enough to eat, as he hadn’t lost weight. Simone advised Annemie on how to get his confidence. They allowed Stefan on the lead out on the balcony and called him inside, to see how he’d react. He behaved quite well. They left a trail of cheese to tempt him, this worked very well and he ate the last piece out of Annemie’s hand. Simone then did the same with some food and again, he grabbed the last piece out of her hand.
Stefan is a very fearful dog, due to his bad experiences in Spain before he was rescued. But slowly he will regain confidence in people and Simone is sure that Annemie will be able to help him with this. He will have a collar and lead when out walking and other dogs should be avoided. They are so glad he is home, and so are we all. He will go to the vet next week to see if he needs medicine for worms as who knows what he has eaten. There’s also the possibility of courses, in time. Simone will keep in touch with Annemie – there’s a long way to go but everyone is so glad he is back.
Tired out after his big adventure - safe and cosy now
A little piece of cheese does the trick
Slowly slowly gaining confidence
Annemie wants to thank everyone who helped in the search for Stefan and who supported her in other ways. THANK YOU.
Original post written by Simone, Volunteer at ACE
He looks like a Perro de Agua (goatherders´working dogs) They are brilliant, which explains how he survived. I cannot say how much I admire you all. I do what I can in Spain but it is exhausting......I found a dog on the road, he has a chip but four days after picking him up I CANNOT GET IN TOUCH WITH HIS OWNER! Damned red tape about secret telf numbers, holidays, leave him in the pound which is hopelessly over crowded.....I will try agsin today God Bless you all.
ReplyDeleteHello Vicky. I'm so sorry I only picked up your comment just now - nearly 2 weeks later. Sorry. Thank you too for doing your best to save the dogs and the one you found on the road.
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