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Original poster

Help! The rescue dog we adopted today has just run off!

22 replies

overthehill · 26/08/2007 00:01

We just brought back our new dog today, and everybody (myself, dh, dd and ds) except our cat fell in love with him straight away. Unfortunately dh took him for a walk tonight and he was spooked by a man wheeling a suitcase along, and tugged on the lead so hard that he pulled it out of dh's hand. Dh ran after him but he went off like a streak of lightning. We've reported it to the police and both been to look for him, but to no avail, and we're sure he won't be able to find his way back here as he's been with us for such a short time. He has been microchipped, but he's got no medal as we only got him today & haven't even decided on a name yet. The cat is delighted, but we're really upset & I can't bear to see how sad the children will be when they come down in the morning, all excited, only to find that he's gone.

Not sure why I'm posting really as I don't think that anyone will have any constructive suggestions, especially at this time of night, but I feel I have to do something.

OP posts:

j20baby · 26/08/2007 00:04

if the police pick him up or someone hand him into a vet they will check to see if he's chpped, don't worry, someone will probably call you tommorrw

meandmy · 26/08/2007 00:05

oh dear have you called the rescue place? as he may be heading there or they might keep an eye out for him!
stay calm my dog ran off onc was found on my moms drive going razy at postman

Original poster

overthehill · 26/08/2007 00:13

Meandmy, yes, I did phone the rescue place, but I don't know if he'd go back there as they only had him a week, & my dh didn't reckon he'd want to go back anyway. Apparently he was brought in by some people who'd found him between our town & the next, so it sounds as though this may have happened before. j20baby, thanks for the reassurance & I do hope you're right, but I'm anxious that he'll get run over before he's picked up, and I think it's going to be a long night of worry. We only lost our last dog in May & this new one seemed to be settling in so quickly - in fact in retrospect I think it was going far too smoothly.

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j20baby · 26/08/2007 00:17

good luck, let us know when you hear anything x

Original poster

overthehill · 26/08/2007 00:44

Thanks, j20, I will, & let's just hope that our little dog is OK. Off to bed now. zzz

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j20baby · 26/08/2007 11:21

any news oth?

beautifulgirls · 26/08/2007 18:58

Get yourself some posters up all around the place on lamp posts and any sort of place public you can attach them to publicise his disappearance. You need to call the local vets and report him to them as missing and if you have it give them his microchip number and explain you only just got him so it is unlikely that the chip has been registered to you just yet, though the paperwork is going through. You also need to call any rescue homes nearby other than the one you got him from, and the local police too as they may scan him and then draw a blank.

Hope you get him back soon.

Original poster

overthehill · 26/08/2007 20:13

Great news! Our neighbours, whose dog he met yesterday, found him camping outside their house this am, so he'd managed to sniff his way back to their house - what a clever boy! He seems very pleased to be back with us, but we're still arguing over names. We decided to put on our old dog's identity disc with the name covered up (has tel no's on it) until we finally agree on who he is to be. But dh & I do have issues over names anyway as it took us well over a week to decide on names for both our children, and now all 4 of us have to agree! However, we'd far rather have the dog without a name than names without the dog!

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j20baby · 26/08/2007 22:45

brilliant. glad he's ok

maybe you should start a name thread

Spidermama · 26/08/2007 22:49

Oh I'm so glad you found him.

How lovely to have a dog around.

beautifulgirls · 26/08/2007 23:06

Call him Houdini!
Glad he is back

Spidermama · 26/08/2007 23:20

Or Harry. Or David Blane.

Original poster

overthehill · 27/08/2007 00:09

J20, I printed off a 14-page name thread and have googled others, but in spite of drawing up 2 shortlists today with our neighbour's help, we still can't all agree! It was difficult when I phoned the police last night: first question was what's his name, second, what breed is he? (RSPCA said bearded collie x Airedale x lurcher!). We did wonder about Houdini, & dh suggested something like Lucky but less corny - but we couldn't think what. Current favourite (with me, at least!) is Dermot (because he seems to suit a Celtic name, he's a bit like an old-fashioned type of doormat (made out of coconut matting) & because it could also be De Mutt...). We did wonder about Rusty (to rhyme with Dusty the cat) - although she's disgusted that he's back!

Other suggestions have been Rufus, Fergus, Steptoe, Sinbad, Archie, Treacle, Teazel, Finnegan (because he's got whiskers on his chinnegan...) - you can see what a time we've had of it! Any further suggestions gratefully received.

OP posts:

Original poster

overthehill · 27/08/2007 00:13

Dh managed to take him round the block tonight without losing him, which is a good sign, although he does seem much more unsure at night, and no doubt the trauma of being in the Dogs' Home didn't help in that respect. I'm off to bed now, so have to shut him in the kitchen & try & find the cat, so wish me luck, and here's hoping the kitchen will still be more or less in one piece in the morning. He is a gorgeous boy, though, & we're confident that he will settle before too long.

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inzidoodle · 27/08/2007 00:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

j20baby · 27/08/2007 00:24

my dog was called 'tramp' it was very apt!

what about Defor (dog)

hope he settles in fine and doesn't go awol again

beautifulgirls · 27/08/2007 09:01

What about heinz - as he is many different things?!
Murphy is quite good as a mutts name
Hagrid if you want something a bit topical

I like archie and finnegan from your list too.

Original poster

overthehill · 27/08/2007 12:24

We did think about Homer and also Heinz, and Harry-Potter related names have been suggested and rejected. We did consider speed-related names such as Rocket and Comet but they seemed better for a greyhound, and we don't want to give him a name that will encourage him to conform to role...

He was very good last night, settling in the kitchen and not barking or whining, and he was so pleased to see us all when we reappeared this am! He seems to have started today as Dermot, and if everyone can agree, then I think it will stick as he has to have his identity disc asap.

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WendyWeber · 27/08/2007 12:47

I've been following this and am so pleased to see that he's come home safely, he sounds like a lovely dog

If the others haven't yet decided on Dermot, how about Shamrock? (Being a lucky name that isn't Lucky!)

Spidermama · 27/08/2007 15:26

Dermot's great.

Original poster

overthehill · 27/08/2007 22:41

Ww, Shamrock's a good suggestion, but I think Dermot has stuck,& dh is getting his identity disc engraved tomorrow. He's settling in really well and is a real sweetie, and only the cat is still to be won over...

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WendyWeber · 27/08/2007 22:52

Dermot is a great doggy name

(Good luck with the cat - could you train Dermot to present her with treats?)

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