4 days ago
Dog's 36-day escapade ends on island 40 miles from home
A lost dog has returned home after a 40-mile journey that finished with a swim across a harbour.
Amber, a five-year-old retriever cross, had been missing for 36 days when she was picked up by a boat crew.
The rescue dog went missing from her foster home at Bramshaw, in the New Forest, on April 25.
In the following days, there were 63 reported sightings of her in the National Park, with food stations put out and cameras set up to try and locate her.
But she somehow walked in a south-westerly direction across the Forest to the coast and ended up in Sandbanks, Poole.
She then paddled for one mile across Poole Harbour to reach Brownsea Island.
One of the few residents on the island put out food for Amber each night after spotting her. But after four days, the dog attempted to swim back to the mainland and was seen by the crew of a passing ferry who thought she was a seal.
Crew mate Ethan Grant said: 'I then realised it was a dog and thought, 'what's that doing out there?' You could see she was struggling, so we thought we need to get her out otherwise she wouldn't have made it.'
Amber was checked by a vet and, despite spending five weeks on her own, was found to be relatively unscathed.
She lost a lot of weight and is now getting extra meals to gain it back before she can be considered for adoption.
Amber had been rescued as a street puppy in Qatar but had spent most of her life in a shelter there.
She was brought to the UK by KS Angels Rescue, an organisation run by husband and wife team Sam Collins and Kelly Parker.
Amber had been staying with foster carer Jess Wadsworth, who said she had no idea how the dog had escaped past 8ft-high deer fencing.
Ms Wadsworth said: 'We were really concerned because she had no knowledge of the UK, no one she had bonded with and she was just running from everyone. We were wondering how on earth we would ever get her back.'
Both Mr Collins and Ms Parker praised the response from residents across Hampshire and Dorset who helped in the search for Amber.
Ms Parker said: 'Thanks to them, we have been able to track Amber as we had sightings most days. Now she will be spending time with her foster family as she needs fattening up and help building up her tolerance to people.
'The woman Amber befriended on Brownsea Island has already contacted us about adoption, so we are in talks with her.'
