In an heroic effort, demonstrating great persistence and commitment, three women spent 15 weeks and many hours in the dead of night to find and trap a missing dog. They eventually succeeded using an array of very tasty foods together with the use of a camera trap which helped them watch the dog from their homes.
Shelly Spiller, Amanda James and Hazel Richards, the three heroic ladies, camped out after work each night when looking for Zena, a dog from Bosnia who had escaped from her rescue home in Bristol, UK in April 2019.
The women run an organisation called Bristol and Somerset Missing Dogs. They started to make nightly patrols to look for the terrier-cross. They had been told that she had been seen several times in Blaise Castle Park.
Their efforts met with no success for a month when they decided to raise £500 online to buy a camera trap and nightvision goggles. Success came on Monday evening when Xena was enticed into a purpose-built enlarged cage lined with liver and garlic sausage together with butcher’s tripe, Swedish meatballs and biscuits!
“At the beginning we were out there until 2:30 or 3 in the morning. But once we got the cameras installed we were able to watch the trap from one of our houses, as we live nearby… We soon realised she wasn’t a fan of anything fishy. So we switched it to meats and fresh wet food. In our eyes every animal deserves to be warm, fed and comfortable. I just can’t believe we managed to capture her. But we wouldn’t have stopped until we did.” Shelly Spiller.
Zena will stay at an animal rescue centre until she is in a position to be fostered again. I am more than impressed with their efforts. Let’s hope that Zena finds a good home and stays in it!
