Will I ever find him? Charlie home safe!!

awman · 28-01-2012 12:54pm #1

My 11 year old male golden labrador went missing early Thursday morning. I've driven every single road within a 10 mile radius of my home but cannot find him anywhere. I've put up posters in all the surrounding villages and towns.I don't think he was stolen. I'm thinking that maybe he wandered off because maybe there was a bitch in heat somewhere near our home. Does anyone know how long a male dog will go missing for after a bitch in heat? He is an old dog (11 years old) and we live out in the country. Our home is down a long narrow passage off the main road out in the country and we have never ever had a trouble with him wandering. He normally doesn't even go outside the gate of our home. I cant believe its Saturday morning and he is still not home. Does anyone know how far a dog will go in search of a bitch in heat? and how long they will stay away for? I'm losing hope of ever finding him. I've rang the local animal shelter - they havent received any dog into them or no phone calls about a stray dog. Ive rang all the vets in the local areas but none of them have had an injured dog in to them. If he had been killed on the road surely I would come across him? Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

JustAThought · 28-01-2012 1:17pm

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog.
Whereabouts are you based?

I found a " new to me " lost pet website the other day ; I will look for the link & post it here later; it covered all Ireland or so ut seemed; there were a number of labs up there; you might get lucky; & it had lots of " finally reunited" stories on it.

There are loses of lost & found pet sites ; maybe it could help if you indicated what area you are in & what places / organisations you have looked in ; perhaps people could then suggest ones you might have missed ; you never know ; your lab might be snoozing happily on someones couch munching biscuits & dreaming of fluffy lady bitches not too far away.

Let us know & I'm sure people will do what they can to help.
Don't give up.

Mikko Mallikas · 28-01-2012 1:36pm

Sorry to hear he is missing, I have a 7 year old black lab. Firstly I wouldn´t cling to the thought that he has gone in search of a bitch, cos ( correct me if I am wrong) you made that idea up yourself and it may be totally wrong, of course driving around looking for him was good, but I would concentrate on walking the fields and ditches locally searching sheds an stuff and calling for him, he may unfortunately be lying somewhere injured or ill, he is 11 years old, just my thoughts, and hope he turns up soon.

planetX · 28-01-2012 1:39pm

I'd also send details and photos to all rescues in the country, and get him on their facebook pages - he may well have been stolen and dumped elsewhere. Hopefully he's microchipped?

Vince32 · 28-01-2012 6:11pm

Ask in your local supermarket if you can put up a poster size missing ad, at least then the majority of your community will be aware your looking for it, it may well be a guest in one of the houses nearby.

Also call all the dog rescue centres and pounds, and make them aware if they find it to contact you.

Aru · 28-01-2012 6:23pm

Dog warden,the local pound and rescues, the local vets, local radio, and posters in the local shops would be my first point of call.As well as actually asking around your area.Some of your neighbours or their children may have spotted him at some stage.The local guarda station would be another place to ask.

Im also very sad to say this but I would also start asking any local farmers with sheep if they have seen him as well as you say your in the country.
This time of year farmers will often shoot roaming dogs to protect their sheep during lambing time.

awman · 28-01-2012 7:52pm

thanks so much for all the replies. Ok i'll give ye all a little more detail.... he sleeps outside at night, always has - we've tried leaving in the house at night but he doesn't seem to like it, he walks up and down the hall all night until you leave him out. We have two dogs and the other dog sleeps in the house at night because she wants to be in. Charlie never wanted to be in a night.
So early Thursday morning my husband was leaving home at 5.30 am for work, Charlie was there when he was leaving. I got up at 8 am for work and at that time he was gone. That's kind of why i'm thinking he hasnt been stolen. We live down a small narrow passage and if a car/ van came down the passage and took him i'd definitely hear it. We have stones in our driveway etc so any car that comes we always hear it outside.

Thats kind of why we were thinking that maybe he wandered out after a bitch in heat.

So this is what we have done to try and find him:

- we have driven every single road within a 10 mile radius of our home. No sign of him anywhere.
- we have done up posters and have put them up in shops, post offices, near churches, schools, garages etc in all the local villages and towns.
- i have rang the animal shelter that is nearest our home (about 10 miles from our home). They have not received any information about him.
- I have rang all local vets in the surrounding towns.
- I have put up messages on websites for lost dogs (lostandfound.ie and lostdogs.ie).
- I rang the radio station for the County I live in asking them to announce it. They told me they have a policy not to announce anything like that because they would be bombarded with similiar calls from people. All they could do to help was direct me to their website where they have a lost and found section. So I have put up a plea on that section of their website for help in finding Charlie.
- I have gone door to door to neighbours houses asking if any of them have seen him. Noone has.
- I walked fields around our house. No sign of him anywhere.

We do live between two farms but to be honest I dont think either of those farms have sheep and even if they did, Charlie never ever caused any hassle to the farmers around us. He is such a great dog. If he wasnt in the house with us, he always stayed outside the house, he never used to even venture outside the gate of our home.

I'm at a loss as to what I to do now. I've spent the last 3 days driving around aimlessly. I received a phone call this morning from a lady in a town about 6 miles from where we live. She had seen one of the posters I had put up. She said she saw a lab and would follow up and stay with him until I could get in the car and drive up there. It took us about 10 minutes to get there and by the time we had got there she said he had gone into a housing estate. We went into the housing estate and couldnt find any dog. When we showed her the picture of our dog again, she said she wasnt sure if it was him at all. She thought the dog she was may have been a lighter colour. Whether it was him or now I'll never know. We couldnt find any dog.

I dont know what to do.... so upset. Cant sleep worrying about him. Hate the thoughts of him wandering around on his own, scared and maybe hurt. It breaks my heart.

Don Booker · 28-01-2012 7:56pm

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Jen Pigs Fly · 28-01-2012 8:07pm

Ok I am hesitant to say this, but is it possible that he ran away to die?

I know 11 years old isn't very old for a lab, but a very similiar thing happened to a friend of mine, her 12 year old lab ran away, no reason for it, he was found miles away dead, he died of natural causes, he was sick, they had an autopsy done on him, turns out he had a tumour, it was never found by a vet and he never showed any pain so nothing was suspected.

Just putting it out there, I would like to keep up hope though that maybe he was just out looking for a girlfriend.

Cherry Blossom · 28-01-2012 8:27pm

Is this dog mirco-chipped? Even if he is it may not read correctly so need to ring all the dog pounds there is even a chance of serving the area leave your details and repeat this every few days. If I found a dog in a field with my animals that's where I'd take it. You haven't said you've contacted the pounds and you haven't said if the dog is chipped, if he's not or they can't find it they have no way to contact you, after 5 days in the pound a dog is no longer legally yours and they can pretty much do what they want with it. I hope you find your dog, but if you do, you need to put up proper fencing/gates to make sure he stays within the confines of your property.

awman · 28-01-2012 10:03pm

sorry I meant to put that into my last message... no, he's not microchipped and he wasnt wearing a collar.

I didnt actually ring the pounds. I'm about 30 miles from Limerick. Does Limerick have a dog pound? I'll google it there now to try find a listing for one.

Oh god I hope he didnt run away to die but we did think about that also. We walked the fields but didnt find him but maybe like you say he's a lot further than we might think. We have driven the roads but not actually walked fields miles away from our home, just the ones surrounding our house from all sides.

If we do find him we will definitely make sure that he has no way of getting out anymore. He is 11 years old and has never wandered before, we didnt think we'd ever have a problem like this with him.

Another reason why i'm thinking he may have wandered off in search of a bitch in heat is because up to now, we've always had a female dog (unspayed) but last summer we had to have our female dog spayed because she was very ill and it was life threatening. so maybe that's why he decided to venture outside the house gate now?? I don't know. I'm probably clutching at straws but I just can't bear the thought that he's gone and will never be home again.

Does anyone have any idea how long a male dog would leave home for if he was with a bitch in heat?? 2 days? 3 days? maybe longer? Does anyone know how far a dog will go to get to a bitch in heat?? I'm getting desperate and hoping that this may be why he's gone.

Thanks again to everyone who sent a reply. I'm feeling so guilty about him going missing. If only I had left him in the house Wednesday night, he'd still be at home with us now but after never before having trouble with him roaming, we didn't think it would ever be something that he'd do.

RubyGirl · 28-01-2012 10:22pm

Have you rang the dog warden for your area, he would be seperate from the pound.

Delancey · 28-01-2012 10:30pm

Better than just phoning pounds call out in person and physically check them. I know someone who phoned the pound with a very accurate description of their missing dog and was told he wasn't there.
Later that day a neighbour went to the pound and lo and behold the dog was there - staff on phone either too stupid or lazy to check !!

Cherry Blossom · 28-01-2012 10:52pm

Contact no. for the dog warden here:

http://www.lcc.ie/Veterinary_Services/Stray_Animal_Control/

lubie76 · 28-01-2012 11:03pm

Op, I know how you feel. I'm missing my cat since last Sunday and I'm heartbroken. He was only 4 months and had never been outside before he escaped. He was only out an hour before we noticed (i I was in bed Sick) but it was like he vanished into thin air. I have spent hours every day driving walking looking and calling for him but nothing.

i put fllyers in all houses nearby and got a tip online to put an A4 laminated page with his pic and brief description and phone number on a large A3 fluorescent cardboard background. Write in heavy black marker on fluorescent cardboard in large letters 'lost dog' above and 'golden retriever' below the laminated poster,stick on poles around busy intersections nearby so it catches people's eye. That's the first thing people will see and if they have seen a dog it will jog their memory and they will stop for closer look and get details. It's recommended by a lot of the US rescue centres as a lot of people miss ordinary white A4 posters. You should defo put one near where the possible sighting was cause chances are somebody else would have seen him.

Best of luck finding him!

Inexile · 29-01-2012 6:07pm

Sorry to hear your dog is missing and I really hope you find him.

On a negative note you also contact however it is that removes dead animals from roadside - not sure if thats the dog warden or some branch of sanitisation and if they network with each other. I really hope your dog hasnt been the victim of a road accident if this wasnt the reason your dog hasnt come home at least you would know what happened to him.

More positively make sure you ask children in your area and all around as they are much more likely to notice stray dogs in an area. keep posting notices everywhere, petrol stations, shops etc. Get out walking and ask anyone you see walking a dog.

Really hope the first part of my post doesnt apply. Good luck

Mollywolly · 29-01-2012 11:03pm

OP, I'm really sorry to hear about your dog, but I do think it's worth trying the pounds in Limerick and Clare because you never know how far he might have wandered.

Also, there's a small rescue centre up in Newport run by Mike Madden and he takes in all kinds of waifs and strays so it might be worth giving him a call. His number is 087 945 6733. He's involved with the SPCA too, so he might even know if Charlie has been taken into the pounds.

Best of luck. I hope you find Charlie soon.

awman · 29-01-2012 11:32pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its sunday night and he's still missing. Cant believe its been 4 full days and we still havent found him. My husband got up early this morning and went walking the fields again. He searched every ditch and dike but didnt find him. That's giving me hope that he's still alive. Perhaps someone will see my posters and ring me telling me they have seen him? I'm desperately hoping this will happen. Contacted a local newspaper today by email so hopefully they might also try to help us find him. Its the wandering what on earth happened to him that's so hard. Did someone take him? Did he get hit by a car? Is he roaming the roads on his own, scared and hurt? These thoughts are just going round and round in my head 24/7.

Lubie76 - i'm so sorry you have also lost your beloved pet. I hope and pray you find him. Thanks for the tip about the posters. I'll get some of them made up in the printers tomorrow. Like you say, they might catch people's eye quicker than the normal A4 white ones. fingers crossed.

mollywolly - thank you for that contact info. I'll definitely give him a call.

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all your replies and wishes for Charlies safe return

Shazanne · 30-01-2012 12:06am

Thoughts and prayers are with you:)
Its every owners worst nightmare.

Daisy M · 30-01-2012 1:44pm

I presume you have rang your local radio station and asked them to put out a request. Make sure you ring or email them daily to keep repeating the request as often as possible. Have you thought of offering a reward, even if he was stolen this may tempt the thieves to return him as "found". Best of luck.

u_c_thesecond · 30-01-2012 2:56pm

Im sorry to hear about your dog. theres nothing worse.My Tilly (cat) went missing in october 2010 and even though he was chipped we never found him

However a small word of warning, i put ads out with a reward for his safe return and a pic of him- he was a ginger and white tabby- and i had people calling saying they had found him and they would arrive at my door with a black cat and demand the reward, after telling me on the phone he was ginger and white- once money is involved people will be quick to try trick you

Also i got a lot of pranks from horrible kids claiming they had killed my cat- very upsetting. Just want to warn that there are horrible people out there

I hope you find him:)

awman · 30-01-2012 5:26pm

Thanks Shazanne, Daisy M and U_C_thesecond. I appreciate your kind replies.

Daisy M - I contacted the local radio station but they wouldnt air my request. They said that it is their policy not to because they would be bombarded with similiar calls from people. They just directed me to their website where they have a lost and found section so I put a plea for Charlie's safe return on that.

U_C_thesecond - that's awful. I cant believe people could be so horrible. I'm sorry you never found your cat

Hope is fading

Traonach · 30-01-2012 7:35pm

I know a farmer who was out rounding up sheep from the mountain with his sheep dogs. There were lads out shooting and the dog got spooked by gunshot fire. One of the dogs went missing. He spent hours searching but no sign. Went back to the mountain every day and spent hours looking for the dog.

He had given up hope, but two months later the postman was delivering the post to the farmer and who jumps out of the car only the sheepdog. An eldery woman had seen the dod wandering on the road and took him in. The postman was delivering post to her house when he noticed the dog. He informed the woman who owned the dog and he brought the dog back to the farmer.

Don't give up hope.......

Sigma Force · 30-01-2012 7:54pm

Don't give up awman, you could still find him. Haven't read all the posts so don't know if you put an ad in the local paper someone I know lost their dog a while back and the ad in the paper did the trick..use a photo of the pooch.

We lost our previous dog for 11 days it was the worst feeling ever but don't give up, just keep advertising like mad and contact as many pounds and rescues and vets etc. as you can.

koneko · 30-01-2012 8:17pm

Good luck, I hope this all works out, it must be really tough

SingItOut · 30-01-2012 9:55pm

Hi awman, I have PM'd you the names of a few rescues with facebook pages who will post lost notices on their pages for you.

realrebel · 30-01-2012 11:07pm

i had my dog for 17 years and i had to put him to sleep last week and it was the hardest thing i ever had to do but i keep thinking he had a good long life
anyway he used to go missing every year for sometimes a whole week, he was after some bitches in heat i presume lol
he even went again in november and i was thinking jesus he is too old for that but he wasnt ha ha
dont give up on your dog he might be somewhere outside someones house all this time and if he is he will come back
i just hope he is ok and didnt have a accident
my thoughts are with you and him hope he is found safe soon

Taceom · 31-01-2012 11:31am

I open this forum every day hoping I will see a post from you that you've found your dog. I lost mine on a walk 2 months ago and he was gone for over an hour and I nearly lost my mind, so I can't begin to imagine what you are going through. I really hope he comes back to you. I got mine back so quickly because my mobile number was on my dog's collar, and the person who found him rang me and told me where I could collect him. My advice to you would be WHEN your dog returns put some id on his collar. Good luck.

amor26388 · 31-01-2012 1:33pm

Awman is there any updates on your dog? Where are you living? You should call every pound near by! I hope you find him, I really do. Is Charlie a short haired lab or a longer haired retriever? Because sometimes people hear lab and they think of a short haired dog when in fact he might be a longer haired breed. I really do hope he comes home to you, wouldn't wish that on anyone xxx

awman · 31-01-2012 4:39pm

Hi everyone,

Thanks very much to you all for your nice comments. Unfortunately we still have not found Charlie. He is missing 6 days today. I'm running out of things I can do to try and find him. I contacted the local newspaper and they are going to put my poster in their paper which is out on Thursday so maybe one of their readers might have seen him and contact me, here's hoping anyway.

I'll attach a couple of pictures of him, if any of you are in the Limerick region maybe you might have seen him?

The first picture is of Charlie on his own, the second and third picture is of Charlie with my other dog Lulu, Charlie's best buddy, who is also missing him very much

Thanks everyone.

amor26388 · 31-01-2012 4:45pm

Jeekers he is a beauty. So cute and handsome. Please ring the pounds and shelters nearby every single day and even call to them, because often your description might not match what someone imagines in their head! Dogs are brought in every day and so it's best to ring every single day to keep on top of it. My heart is broken for you, but honestly, there are so many stories of doggies who return home after very long periods away! Lots of prayers to St Anthony, St Jude and St Francis of Assisi! I'm in Tipperary but will obv keep my eyes peeled for him, he might have gone on a very long journey! I think it's a good sign that you haven't heard anything back about accidents...keep positive and stay doing what you are doing. Charlie is lucky to have you xxx

Will I ever find him? ** Charlie home safe!! **

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Will I ever find him? Charlie home safe!!