Pixie's Story

On Tuesday 26th June our Border Terrier bitch Pixie got out of our garden, some time between 8.30am and 9.00am. We realised she had gone within minutes and the search started. 

Despite being hot on her trail and calling her name all around the village, using the squeaky toys she loves, there was no sign of our beloved pet and no-one had seen her. 

By lunchtime we had homemade signs up with her photo and offering a substantial reward. 

That afternoon, a lovely lady called Anne arrived to help search with her two dogs. One of Anne’s dogs is a trained rescue dog, used to hunting for the scent of blood. We scoured the verges and ditches of the A30 and Snows Ride, where Pixie had vanished from. No sign.  

Later the same day somebody recommended getting Pixie’s details on www.doglost.co.uk, which my husband Rob did immediately. 

Through Doglost I was contacted by one of their volunteers, a fellow dog owner called Heather who works for her family's printing firm.  She arranged for some laminated colour A3 posters to be produced free of charge. The printers have been supplying posters and flyers at cost ever since. She has been a great source of advice and support. 

On Wednesday morning I took a stack of flyers and stood in the middle of the road covering then time period Pixie went missing the day before, passing them out to drivers. 

The vast majority took them, and when the road wasn’t too busy, many were sympathetic. Some took extra copies to put in their workplace. 

Complete strangers offered to help. I have encountered real human kindness. 

But, sadly and strangely not one single sighting of Pixie.  

Since then, I have, with the help of old friends and new people who I met during the week, distributed over 2000 fliers. 

Posters have been put up in multiple locations throughout Windlesham, Bagshot, Lightwater, Chobham, Sunningdale, Sunninghill, South Ascot, Camberley, Woking and even Yateley, Frimley, and Guildford. 

Still not one single sighting, though a few false alarms as people have spotted signs for other similar dogs 

A kind soul, Sarah (another Doglost volunteer),  helped me put up yet more posters on the Saturday. 

Local dog lovers, Dee, Maxine and Gill have all been helping to spread the word. 

I have contacted the Police, dog wardens, animal rescue centres, vets and postmen across a wide area, milkmen, gardening firms, local schools, the Highways Agency, Network Rail, local dog owners, professional dog walkers and joggers. 

She has been mentioned on local radio (BBC Surrey, Joe Talbot).  There are more media mentions in the pipeline as I type. 

Not one person has seen her. 

Pretty much everyone I encounter locally now is aware that she is missing. 

Pixie has never strayed before. She is a beloved family pet. She is spayed, and microchipped, and was wearing a tag and collar. She loves people, and is convinced that they all love her, so I have no doubt that she would have found people days ago. 

So why is she still missing? 

Maybe she was hit by a car. 

By law drivers have to report it if they hit a dog, yet as we know people don’t always do what they ought. Nonetheless, usually a dog dead on the road is investigated or reported by somebody, and the dog wardens have assured me that they scan dead dogs for microchips and inform the owners. We have checked the ditches by the roadsides locally. No sign of her. 

Maybe somebody has found her already? 

She would be very easy to gather up and take home, and she is very cute and lovable. But, it is an offence not to return a dog to the owner or to hand it in to the local authority, and one would hope that people would not be so selfish. 

Maybe she has been found by somebody who sees dogs in a different way; a source of money. 

As she is spayed she has no value for breeding, which apparently increases our chances of getting her back.  We are offering a reward greater than her value on the streets.  But so far nobody has come forward. 

Pixie’s whereabouts remain a mystery. 

But the more I have walked around the village and spoken to people, the more I have discovered that Pixie is far from the first to have disappeared locally. 

Three went missing in a matter of weeks last year as was reported in the national press by David Millward of the www.telegraph.co.uk  

In addition to these, I have heard of a lurcher who disappeared while being walked on the golf course , and was found by the owner tied up in a ditch, possibly awaiting collection later (can give contact details). I also have heard of people having to buy their dogs back after they have disappeared from enclosed gardens. 

It would help if all vets routinely scanned all dogs new to their practice. 

It would help if the public understood that a microchip is not a GPS system; the owner cannot find a dog using the chip, but a dog , even having lost its collar, can be reunited with its owner IF it is taken to a vet or dog warden and scanned. 

There is no excuse for just keeping a found dog. 

Somewhere there will be a family like ours, desperately worrying and grieving for the littlest member – the one who is always loyal, always cheerful and pleased to see you, always excited to see what the next walk brings.

Sue Lilley & Family