‘What a girl!' Lost dog returns after swimming to island on 100-mile journey
An adventurous dog who went missing for 36 days and covered about 100 miles has returned from her extended walkies, after being rescued by a charity.
Amber, a retriever cross, had been rescued as a street puppy in Qatar by a charity and moved to the UK but went missing after only one night with her new foster family near Bramshaw, in the New Forest.
The dog went missing on 25 April, and for the next 36 days went on an adventure across Hampshire and Dorset, even swimming to an island, before she was rescued.
Kelly Parker, who set up KS Angels Rescue, said the dog had entered a 'wild mindset' until Saturday's rescue.
'We had a lot of well-meaning people and they really did try to help,' she said. 'Unfortunately with a dog that is scared and has entered that wild mindset, with any people, she would have run.'
Every time the wanderer was spotted, she had covered another five or six miles (8km/9.6km), said Parker. 'It's been frustrating, we've felt like we were always behind her. It's definitely been an experience I would rather not have again – but a happy ending.'
Parker said she hoped adventurous Amber would have a 'calmer, more stable spirit' in future.
The charity said Amber had apparently swum to Brownsea Island, where she was fed by a resident, but had left again after a few days. She was spotted by two men in a boat in Poole Harbour and they rescued her before alerting Lost Dog Recovery, which was part of the search party looking for her.
The family who had been fostering Amber said her travels had given them an anxious few weeks. Jess Wadsworth said the dog was in a remarkably good condition, given the length of her trip.
'I still can't quite believe [Amber is back],' she said. 'We've lost a pet dog for two or three days. You think in those terms. I have never known a dog that travels that many miles and survives.
'She's already in really good nick compared to how long she had gone for. What a girl!'
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