Sponsored by
'Miracle' dog found in compost heap
A LOST dog which disappeared for 16 days has been unearthed alive and well in a compost heap.
Tim and Judith Brown had mounted a desperate campaign to search for their border terrier Ruby after she went missing from their garden one Sunday evening.
But Judith was dumbfounded after she heard a squeaking noise coming from the compost heap while she was gardening, and pulled away a rock to find the emaciated dog hidden beneath.
Share your thoughts on this story in the commenting section below or call Alex Christie-Miller on 01403 751231
"It felt like a miracle," said Judith, "I got the shakes I was so overwhelmed."
Ruby had apparently climbed down a rabbit warren after escaping from the garden, and then got stuck under an entrance blocked three feet beneath the compost heap.
Couple convinced Ruby was stolen
The couple had been convinced that Ruby had been stolen after she disappeared from their garden on the evening of Sunday September 7, and they contacted police and vets and put posters around Southwater and Barns Green offering a reward for anyone who found her.
Then on Tuesday morning Judith heard a minute squeak from the compost heap, as she was gardening at their home in Marlpost Lane, near Southwater.
"At first I thought I must have imagined it," she recounted.
"Then I heard it again and I said 'Ruby?' I felt I was totally stupid and unreal by calling for her, because I thought it couldn't possibly be her.
"The squeaks started getting a bit stronger, but I couldn't work out where she was.
"When I took the stone away and found her it felt like pulling her out of a grave.
"She didn't really register much. She was too weak and shaken to express any delight.
"I carried her up the garden to the house and then she drank massively."
Thin, shocked and dehydrated
The dog was thin, shocked and dehydrated, but after taking her to the vet later on that morning she was found to be otherwise fit and well, and had even had something to eat during her two week ordeal.
Ruby had been a present from their children on their 40th ruby wedding anniversary and only days after they lost her, they were hit by the news that their other dog, a labrador, had cancer and needed to be put down.
"We've always had dogs and it would have been the first time without one which would have been an awful feeling. Our family were all very worried," said Judith.
The dog's ordeal is still a mystery to the couple, who cannot believe she survived in a rabbit warren for more than two weeks.
"There's no way she could have been there for 16 days," said Judith, "but she's been somewhere and she lost a lot of weight.
"We still think she was taken and then escaped and made her own way home.
"The vet said she had been eating but I think she has been living wild somewhere and making her own way home.
"I don't think we'll ever know what really happened to her. But she's well and that's the main thing."
For comprehensive coverage of all the stories making the local news, read Friday's edition of the West Sussex County Times newspaper. Website users who wish to purchase a copy of the County Times newspaper but live outside our circulation area can do so by telephoning 01403 751200 and asking for reception. The cost of the newspaper plus postage in England is 1.53 which can be paid for by credit card. Overseas rates are also available, on request.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Horsham
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
