Lost pet is tracked down by UK's first cat detection dog

A pet cat whose owner was left distraught when he went missing from his home has finally been tracked down - by Britain's first cat detection dog.
Cat detection dog Molly SUS-170604-101622001Cat detection dog Molly SUS-170604-101622001
Cat detection dog Molly SUS-170604-101622001

Charity worker Catherine Jarvis searched everywhere when her pet puss Phoenix disappeared and had almost given up hope of ever seeing the cherished 10-year-old tabby again.

She contacted Surrey-based Pet Detectives who specialise in tracing lost animals - and cat detection dog Molly was put on the case.

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Molly, a rescue working Cocker Spaniel, has been specially trained by Medical Detection Dogs to use her huge sense of smell to sniff out missing cats - and she soon tracked down Phoenix.

Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001
Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001

Medical Detection Dogs is a charity that normally trains dogs to detect the smell of human diseases such as cancer.

Catherine, who works at Cats Protection national adoption centre in Chelwood Gate, said: “As Phoenix had gone missing on a sunny Saturday, I was worried that he’d got himself shut in someone’s shed. I spent hours wandering around, calling his name, to no avail.”

By Wednesday Catherine was getting frantic and contacted Pet Detectives who put Molly to work on the search.

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“Watching Molly in action was fantastic,” said Catherine. “Once she had been given Phoenix’s scent she was on a mission. With her keen nose on the job we were able to get a good idea of Phoenix’s usual route, which helped us track down the best area to search.”

Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001
Catherine Jarvis and Phoenix SUS-170604-101608001

Phoenix was finally spotted in a closed up garage. “I was in shock at first. I almost couldn’t believe we’d found him,” said Catherine.

Phoenix is the latest of 10 cats that Molly has found since she started work as a detective dog just a month ago.

Pet Detectives, which is based in Guildford and run by a former police officer, say that there is so much call on Molly’s time that they now plan to get and train up another cat detection dog.

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