A woman from Sunderland has raised nearly £3,000 for the people who found her parents’ dog which went missing when they were on holiday.
Laura Parks is raising money for The Lost Dog Trapping Team, a charity of volunteers who helped find Maisie, a four-year-old whippet who escaped from a dog board, a house that a dog stays in, rather than a kennel, when the owners are away.
Laura said Maisie went missing when her parents, Marie and Jim, were on their flight to Gran Canaria, and was missing for eight days in total. Laura said: “I tried ringing them originally, but their phones were off because they were obviously flying. I sent her a text asking them to ring me straight away, so when they landed my mum saw she had calls from me, she rang me in the airport, barely being able to hear me. I think she knew it had something to do with Maisie as they dog board had tried ringing her as well as me.”
Laura said Maisie had been sighted a number of times whilst she was missing and she plotted these on a map. She then handed the search over to The Lost Dog Trapping Team.
“The trapping team came to try and figure out where she could have been going, as she was hovering around the same area. The team came up with an area where they thought would be good to set up the trap, and they would leave her different entrances and exits in case she got spooked.
“They made scent trails from, I think it was fish oils, OXO cubes and water and put them for miles on the street to lead her to the trap. The trap was filled with sausages, steak, any food that would attract her to it.”
Maisie was found after eight days in Ryhope, where Laura lives. Her parents also live five minutes around the corner, so Laura said Maisie was found “kind of in the middle of our two houses.”
Maisie was found on the day Laura’s mum and dad landed back from their holiday, and Laura joked: “I could have just told them Maisie went on a diet!”
Maisie was missing for a total of eight days
(Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
Each trap that The Lost Dog Trapping Team carry out costs around £3,000, the same target Laura is hoping to raise through her fundraiser. “They also have doorbells around each trap to make sure it is the dog that they are looking for. Wi-Fi, feeding stations, food, there is loads of stuff that they need to pay for.
“I am just so thankful to the team for finding her.”
To donate to Laura’s fundraising effort for The Lost Dog Trapping Team, click here.
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