Jill Franks' Bulldog Stolen/Lost

[iloveshopping]

If he had of fallen in the water, the body would float by now. Someone would have spotted the poor thing and with all the posters up in the area etc.[/QUO
It was on the east side of Windsor and the river is wide next town actually on the river is Staines (Egham is next but the river runs about 1/2 a mile from it) probably 5 miles away (Staines that is) I saw the poster in Windsor park which isn't on the river and the Thames doesn't go near it.

 

[Julius]

I think it's fair to say that he's gone. With each passing day it becomes less likely he will return. It's a great shame. He's the canine equivalent of Madeleine McCann.

 

[dollydimple]

Too soon to give up hope yet. There is time for him to be found and returned home.

 

[Ruthmay]

Hopefully someone will see him and report him to police. he could be in any part of the country of course. poor, poor dog, how he must be suffering and missing home.

 

[candycane]

what an awful time for Jill, my heart goes out to her. I'm a huge dog lover and if my pet went missing it would destroy me. I hope eventually Scruncher is found and returned safely. Highly unlikely he would find his way to Scotland but you never know. Everyone keep their eyes and ears open.

CC

 

[Akimbo]

:emo:

I think it's fair to say that he's gone. With each passing day it becomes less likely he will return. It's a great shame. He's the canine equivalent of Madeleine McCann.

You little ray of sunshine you! :sun:

 

[miss molly]

I don't think anyone should speculate as it must be very upsetting for JF or Larry lets just hope he comes home safely.

 

[Polly Esther]

Dreadful for them...as a dog owner myself, I would be frantic. Really hope there is some good news soon and I do genuinely feel for them both.

I do wonder why he wasn't wearing a collar though (and therefore no ID tag). Apart from being illegal, as all dogs are supposed to have one, it seems quite strange. I know he is microchipped, but surely a tag with his phone number might have helped if he has just wandered off somewhere. Of course if he's been stolen, that's another issue, but maybe they might've had news by now if it was only a matter of a quick phonecall?

 

[donna255]

Remember Pipa got her dog back well over six months after it was stolen. She had got another dog and then someone brought the original to a vet and the microchip was scanned. Her dog was either sold on gumtree or in a pub.

 

[Akimbo]

Where I used to live a woman took her cat Minky to the Vet's wrapped in a towel (not in a pet carrier) and when someone brought in a dog, it panicked and rushed out through the open door. Ofcourse it wasn't near it's home and the owner did the usual posters around the area and the local paper appealed but she wasn't recovered for over a year, in perfect health. The local free paper covered it as though a lost astronaut was safely home LOL!
Keep positive!

 

[iloveshopping]

Cats and dogs adopt me when they are lost. I have reunited a few with their owners. Last one was a cat and I was digging a hole in the front garden and a cat came over and kept trying to get in. I thought it was trying to hijack the whole to have a crap. In the end I took it indoors and as it had a phone number on it I called the number but no answer eventually after several calls I got hold of the owner. I said I'd drive it round but owner said he'd walk round. He arrived saying he was surprised at how far away it had gone and that they had thought it was in the house as they were keeping it in as they had just moved here.
Last time I found a dog in Windsor park after seeing\hearing distraught owners cal!ing for a dog that was virtually blind and deaf. We exchanged mobile numbers and broke into search parties. Dog was in long brown grass with its nose stuck in it and I pulled it out. It came out reluctantly something must have smelled good. It was a light brown dog and was camouflaged by the grass.
I have tales of temporary adoption too when the dog wardens prefer the found dogs not to go to the dog pound

 

[Akimbo]

I like to think that for every mean evil pet-knapper there are a fair few good hearted folk who care about animals and their distraught owners to help reunite a foundling with its family. (Call me Pollyanna!)

The woman whose house backs onto my back garden lost her cat a few months ago and I could hear her calling, rattling the Iams, and tapping the whiskas tin each evening and it was heart-breaking to hear. They were reunited after a few weeks but anyone who's ever had pets (and many who haven't) will know how your imagination runs through any number of horrible scenarios however hard you try to banish these thoughts.

Channeling positive vibes for Scrucher's safe return.

 

[iloveshopping]

That reminds me of my neighbour's house cat that went missing after it escaped from their house. It is a runt to start with. Anyway poster came through door to check garages and outhouses. Neighbour out every evening looking for cat. After about 3days neighbour says cat ran out of house down road where it had been lurking having weed and crapped - I think the owners had been away for weekend and then could not find offending animal. Cat eventually retrieved from behind pile of rubble from another neigbours garden so it had managed to almost get home again. She got badly scratched getting it out, cat can't have recognised her.

 

[iloveshopping]

I don't have pets because their life spans are too sort. Too much grief. Also they cost quite a lot and I work full time.

 

[Brissles]

Yes I couldn't agree more about their short life spans, the grief that is caused when they pass away, the amount they cost in vet and food bills, and the inconvenience when you want to go away.

BUT in a dog, a woman (or a man) could not wish for a more faithful and loving companion (whether solo or not), and to have that greeting when you walk through the door is like no other. I didn't realise this until, after the last 17 years of having dogs in my life, - the love of my life Cass a whippet finally died last July, - after my husband died 10 years ago this dog was my shadow, and it was more a case of being 'in love' with each other, rather than loving each other. Only dog owners would understand this.

Yes, I felt physically ill after his demise, and yes I have had the freedom to go places without a second thought, and not worry about the 5 hour time limit of leaving him alone, BUT I cant wait to get another dog in need of the love and companionship I have to offer - this is not to 'replace' Cass, because each animal has individual characteristics, but I'm already feeling better at the anticipation of having another dog in my life !

 

[Vienna]

Scruncher could be anywhere and with anybody for whatever reasons, good or bad. It`s nothing unusual for lost or stolen pets to be reunited with their owners months after they went missing. We don`t really know EXACTLY what happened that day, the facts are somewhat vague. Did he run off ( though nowadays bulldogs are poor runners ), was he enticed, did he get lost or was he stolen ? I guess only time will tell.
A name tag would have helped because not everybody would think to take a lost dog to be checked for a chip, especially if someone found him and just took him home with them. He`s no use for breeding and British bulldogs are less desireable for fighting than their more aggressive, much bigger cousins the American bulldog. They soon get breathless, bulldogs tend to have poor hearts, short life spans and if they`ve been a pampered pet they quite often carry excess weight too. My friend owns 2 and both spend a large chunk of the day snoring !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldog

 

[rainbowdottie]

Agree with all the above about bulldogs - but his price tag will be around £1200 if whoever has him wants to sell him on.Thats whats attractive about him.

Poor Jill.If any member of her family had been taken then I'm sure she would have time off,time for privacy etc...."just" because its her dog,it seems as though she must carry on as though its just one of those things.

 

[MIKE040249]

I live in Windsor and we get an email two or three times a week from what's called "Eyes & Ears". It's produced by the Thames Valley Police and updates everyone on local crime information and advises how to avoid being scammed at the door or over the phone.

Yesterday, we got a "Special", exclusively about Scruncher and with their poster attached. Sorry if this is already on this thread but it seems to have happened at 11pm on the tow path opposite Brown's Restaurant in Windsor. This is right above a fast flowing and, at that time anyway, a pretty high river after the rains. He was apparently not wearing a collar.

One last thing and I don't want to sound like a male Mother Teresa but I would hope that, if he's found and returned to Jill safely, that person wouldn't claim a reward. Just doing a good deed should be enough, really.

 

[Breeze]

I'm sorry to be critical. I know it probably sounds unfair & cruel when they must be going through agonies of worry but it does seem a rather stupid thing to have done. Walk him at 11pm so in the dark on a tow path next to a fast flowing, swollen river, without a lead. Anything could have happened, if he slipped & fell in, not unfeasible, at his age & bulldogs not being as agile these days as some breeds, he would have stood no chance of getting out by himself & in the dark wouldn't have been seen in time to pull him out, even supposing that were possible given the state of the river. It seems to me a risk not worth taking when a lead could have kept him safe.
I walk my bunch regularly along a tow path, a canal not a flowing river, even so I always have them on lead. Unexpected things happen & I like to know I have them as safe as I can.

I agree that you shouldn't just rely on micro chips. It's in fact illegal for a dog to be off your premises without an identity tag, chips don't count by themselves. So if he was not wearing a tag attached to a collar or by other means, harness, ribbon etc, they were breaking the law.
Any kind person finding your dog can make contact easily if there's a phone number to call or an address to return him to. You don't have to rely solely on them ending up with a vet, dog warden or other place where a scanner is available. At night the vets premises are shut anyway & your average non dog owner is not going to know much about out of hours availability no matter how caring they are.

 

[srhgts]

Yes I couldn't agree more about their short life spans, the grief that is caused when they pass away, the amount they cost in vet and food bills, and the inconvenience when you want to go away.

BUT in a dog, a woman (or a man) could not wish for a more faithful and loving companion (whether solo or not), and to have that greeting when you walk through the door is like no other. I didn't realise this until, after the last 17 years of having dogs in my life, - the love of my life Cass a whippet finally died last July, - after my husband died 10 years ago this dog was my shadow, and it was more a case of being 'in love' with each other, rather than loving each other. Only dog owners would understand this.

Yes, I felt physically ill after his demise, and yes I have had the freedom to go places without a second thought, and not worry about the 5 hour time limit of leaving him alone, BUT I cant wait to get another dog in need of the love and companionship I have to offer - this is not to 'replace' Cass, because each animal has individual characteristics, but I'm already feeling better at the anticipation of having another dog in my life !

Couldn't agree more. The death of my last cat was literally the worst thing to ever happen to me, it took me nearly 3 years to fully come to terms with, but I couldn't not get more cats. They enrich your life so much and are just so funny and charming, I couldn't not have them even if it means losing them is unbearable. Besides my partner my cats make me happier than anything in the world.