NEW PETHUNTERS WEBSITE NEWS

We are happy to inform our friends that our pethunters.co.uk site will soon be back up and running.
We had been hacked for the third time but never deterred and will continue to look for your pets. Keep checking our https://www.facebook.com/ pethunters.page for missing pets

I called in a £4,000 rescue team to search  for my late wife’s dog

By Andy Dolan

His late wife chose their pet from a dogs’ home, so Alfie the mongrel has an extra special place in Rod Chivers’s heart. Now, with the eight-year-old dog missing, Mr Chivers is leaving no stone unturned in his search.

The 68-year-old widower has enlisted the help of search and rescue teams, pet detectives and drainage experts to track down his beloved companion since he disappeared on Saturday.

He was prepared to spend almost £4,000 looking for Alfie, who vanished while exploring a badger sett on one of their twice-daily walks.

Mr Chivers, who runs a recycling and scrap metal business in Rugby, Warwickshire, said: ‘It’s just the not knowing that’s the destroying thing.

‘Of course, it’s my wife’s dog and she died three years ago. It’s my lifeline really. I have to find him.’

Mr Chivers spent hours looking for Alfie after he vanished down a badger sett by a disused railway line.

When there was no sign of the black and tan dog, he called in the search and rescue team from West Midlands fire service – expecting to pay £688 an hour.

Their monitoring equipment is designed to detect signs of life among the rubble of earthquakes, collapsed buildings, explosions and landslides

But the seven-man unit spent five hours searching for Alfie without success.

Mr Chivers also paid £180 to drainage experts who spent four hours searching the sett’s 26ft deep tunnels using a CCTV camera, but they drew a blank.

And volunteers from a pet detective service have spent the evenings desperately scouring the area, without any luck.

Mr Chivers, who has three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, said: ‘It’s a very worrying time and some might say I’m mad to throw so much money at it, but Alfie means more to me and my family than money.’

Much loved: Eight-year-old Alfie was chosen by Rod Chivers late wife from a dogs' home

His late wife, Janet, adopted the dog from a rescue centre but died of lung cancer two years later, aged 68.

The land where Alfie disappeared is managed by conservation association Natural England, which told Mr Chivers he would only be allowed to dig up the sett if he could prove Alfie was trapped underground.

Warwickshire fire service did not have the right equipment, so Mr Chivers was referred to the larger West Midlands brigade.

Though he accepted a quote of £688 an hour, the force said last night that he would not have to pay.

A spokesman added that, while the job fell outside the team’s usual remit, it would waive the charge because there would have been a ‘risk to life if an individual tried to carry out a rescue [of Alfie] themselves’.

Watch manager Rob Norman said: ‘We’ve done as much of a search of that bank as possible. I’m absolutely confident that if Alfie were there... we would have located him.’

Mr Norman believes Alfie, who is microchipped, may have found another way out of the sett and could have been taken in by a nearby resident.

http://bedlingtonterrierlostdog.weebly.com/

Dumped Dog's Looking For homes

We all know the saying 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas' but sadly hundreds of pets are still abandoned after the festive period.This is because people change their minds about keeping their Christmas presents when they realise the cost involved.

Animal charities say fewer people are adopting dogs this year because of the recession. We will be meeting some perfect pooches in need of rehoming, including some gorgeous puppies.


1) DUMPED IN LAYBY

Name: Robyn
Age: 6 -12 months old

Breed: Patterdale terrier

Story: Brown and black terrier Robyn was found by a member of the public in a layby in Kent on the 29th December and handed in to the Brands Hatch branch of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. She was scared, timid and dehydrated and in a bad condition. She was not wearing a collar and didn't have a microchip. Robyn is a lively, bouncy and comical girl whose cheeky terrier character shines through. She's a bright dog and has the potential to learn tricks!

New home: Robyn does have a sensitive side so needs owners who can build her confidence. She is looking for a countryside home with experienced owners who can give her plenty of mental and physical stimulation, and lots of TLC. She'd rather be the only dog in her new home.

Info: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home / www.battersea.org.uk / Tel: Brands Hatch branch on 01474 875106


2) LITTLE WHIRLWIND

Name: Archie

Age: 4 months old

Breed: Jack Russell

Story: Black and white terrier Archie was picked up as a stray by a dog warden on the 9th January. He spent seven days in the local pound before being brought to The Blue Cross centre in Kimpton, Hertfordshire. He wasn't in a bad condition, but was lucky to be picked up before things deteriorated. He's an active little dog - a real little whirlwind who loves to greet all the people he meets.

New home: Archie is looking for a home with an active family who have lots of time and energy for a busy, energetic terrier.

Info: Blue Cross Animal Centre / www.bluecross.org.uk / Tel: Blue Cross Supporter Care number - 0300 7909903


3) FUN LOVING GIRL

Name: Rita

Age: 10 -12 weeks old

Breed: Mastiff cross

Story: Rita came in to the Battersea centre on the 2nd January after she was found dumped in a box along with her five siblings. All six dogs are looking for a new home but we just have Rita in the studio with us today. She's a fun loving, happy go lucky puppy who is very sweet natured.

New home: Rita will grow in to a large dog so her new owner will need to be aware of this and she will need lots of training.

Info: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home / www.battersea.org.uk / Tel: Battersea, London branch on 0207 6279234

4) PLAYFUL PUP

Name: Thelma (note - Thelma's brother and sister Scooby and Daphne were supposed to appear with her today but they are poorly so couldn't make it - but they are looking for homes when they are better)

Age: 5 months old

Breed: Beagle cross

Story: Thelma and her siblings Scooby and Daphne were handed in to a dog pound between Christmas and the New Year as their owners could no longer care for them or rehome them privately. They are energetic and playful and get on well with other dogs they have met. They love to learn new things as long as food is the incentive! Thelma was very poorly and had to have an emergency operation at only four months old but is recovering very well.

New home: They would ideally like an active home with experienced beagle owners who are home for a lot of the day.

Info: Dogs Trust Canterbury / www.dogstrust.org.uk / Tel: 01227 792 505


5) ABANDONED COLLIE CROSS

Name: Avril

Age: 3 months old

Breed: Collie cross, but they're not sure what she's crossed with exactly!

Story: Avril came to the Blue Cross centre in Bromsgrove on the 9th January after she had been left to fend for herself as a stray with her sister Becca. She is a really sweet and affectionate dog, despite having been abandoned, and gets on well with people and other dogs.

New home: Avril is looking for a lovely new home where someone will be around for quite a lot of the day while she is still a pup. She would be happy to live with children and other dogs.

Info: Blue Cross Animal Centre / www.bluecross.org.uk / Tel: Blue Cross Supporter Care number - 0300 7909903


6) LAST PUP FROM XMAS LITTER

Name: Goldie

Age: 9 weeks old

Breed: Staffie cross

Story: Goldie was brought into Battersea on 28th December by a member of the public who found her and her two litter mates (who have now been rehomed) as strays. She's a confident and cheeky pup but full of fun and very affectionate!

New home: She has a lovely temperament and is very sociable so could be rehomed with other dogs or even a cat. She would love to be in a house that has a garden for her to play in and she would need training.

Info: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home / www.battersea.org.uk / Tel: Battersea, London branch on 0207 6279234


7) ABANDONED SPANIEL PUPPIES

Names: Angelica, Twinkle and Gabriel

Age: Roughly 14 weeks old

Breed: Cocker spaniels

Story: This cheeky trio were found abandoned on 2nd January on a member of the public's driveway in a cage. The people who found them said they opened their living room curtains and the pups were just there. They had no bedding or water and by the state of the cage they had been in it most of the night. There are two girls and a boy. All are very lively, happy and friendly. In the time they've been at the centre everyone has fallen in love with them and cannot wait to see them find happy new homes.

New home: They will be looking for active teenage homes with owners that will be home a lot of the time to help them settle in and assist with their training. They’d prefer to live with other dogs that can show them the ropes and provide them with a play partner! Twinkle has slightly shorter legs than her siblings so looks even cuter than the others!

Info: Dogs Trust Salisbury / www.dogstrust.org.uk / Tel: 01980 629 634

ITV 's This Morning is on the hunt for a fabulously talented dog to star in an extra special episode of Emmerdale!
Do you think your pooch is perfect for the role? If so then all you have to do is watch Paddy Kirk's step-by-step guide to entering the competition above, then upload a video of your prize pet performing before 12:00pm on January 18th. Who knows, your dog could be taking centre-stage in the village later this year!

http://www.itv.com/thismorning/dog-for-the-dales/how-to-take-part/

FLASH

Tri Colour Male Basset Hound

Missing from Shelley Drive, off Boston Road, Sleaford, Lincs, NG34 (East Anglia) on Wednesday, 28th December 2011

Flash has a heart problem. Vets, Dog Warden, Police all informed. Posters up and all on Facebook. There is a REWARD for FLASH's safe return.

CONTACT: 07980 801547 or 01529410438

Dog’s leg amputated after allegedly being thrown from van

5th Jan 2012

A TWO-year old lurcher who was allegedly thrown from the back of a van in Cambridgeshire has lost his leg.

Boris was brought into Wood Green, the Animals Charity in Godmanchester on December 21 with a badly fractured femur in his back left leg.

A member of the public said they saw the dog being thrown from the back of a white transit van near to Melbourn in South Cambridgeshire. RSPCA officials are investigating the incident.
Staff at the centre decided to remove the leg following an X-ray. Boris spent Christmas recovering with a foster family in Wisbech.

Head of Animal Welfare Shelley Wooding said: “It is extremely sad that Boris, through no fault of his own, was abandoned in such a cruel way before Christmas. We have passed what evidence we have to the RSPCA for further investigation.

“In the meantime we would strongly urge anyone thinking of giving up a pet to contact us for advice and support. “It is also a reminder that any animal is a long term commitment and financial burden and any decision to get a new pet should be made carefully with the whole family in mind.”

Royston Crow Article

Missing Lhaso Apso -  Harvey

Harvey went missing from the back garden at 9pm 3/1/12. From West Albert road Aigburth Liverpool Merseyside Postcode L17. He is slightly bigger than a cat and has blond golden fur and a grey black beard. He was wearing two collars a red one with black clips and an all black rubber flea collar. If you have found him please contact Dean on 07837104246 or email verbalherman@hotmail.co.uk. 

Harvey is very friendly and has been part his owner family his whole life. He is very missed and is a loyal dog please help.

MISSING CHIHUAHUA NAMED CHI CHI Beige Female Chihuahua

Missing from Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 area, (South West) on Saturday, 31st December 2011

CONTACT: 07702 609889

Picture to follow

Online pet detectives solve case of the stolen spaniels to retrieve their dogs outside travellers' camp By David Wilkes

No doubt the dognappers thought they had found a soft target when they snatched these fluffy little fellows. But the disappearance of six rare Tibetan spaniels from award-winning breeders Heather Simper and Elisabeth Scoates galvanised dog lovers across the world into remarkably powerful action.
Appalled by the raid on the kennels in the Oxfordshire village of Upton, near Didcot, friends set up a Facebook site appealing for information about the missing dogs.
And vital tips soon began flooding in about their possible whereabouts.

In safe hands: Owners Elisabeth Scoates, left, and Heather Simper are reunited with three of their dogs, Ivy, Harriet and Gus.

Within 24 hours, more than 450 people from as far afield as the U.S. and Norway had joined the online hunt. Hundreds of ‘missing’ posters showing pictures of the dogs were distributed and vets alerted across Britain.
By the day after the theft, sufficient leads were established for retired teachers Miss Simper, 64, and Miss Scoates, 63, to point the finger of suspicion at a travellers’ camp 25 miles away.

More...

• Saved! Dozens of dogs being carted off to be slaughtered for food are rescued by police
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They informed police, who visited the camp near Tadley, Hampshire, and found one of the dogs, three-year-old Harriet, tethered outside a caravan.
Like all the dogs, she has been microchipped so her identity was easily confirmed.
The next day, two-year-old Gus, a champion show dog, was found outside the same camp. His owners suspect he might have been freed after captors realised the dogs had become ‘too hot to hold on to’.
Both dogs were hungry but not physically harmed, and are now safely back home.

The kennels at the back of the home of Elisabeth Scoates and Heather Simper from Didcot, Oxfordshire, where they had six dogs stolen.

Another dog, Ivy, had turned up on their doorstep, possibly having run off when the thieves struck. But the search for Gladys, two, and seven-month-old puppies Alice and Amy continues. Last night Miss Simper, who has judged at Crufts, said: ‘The theft left us feeling numb, it’s like somebody stealing our children.
‘But the support from the local community and the general public has been immense and we can’t thank everyone enough.’

Tibetan spaniels originate from the Himalayan mountains,where monks used them as watchdogs. Puppies cost up to £1,000. The dogs were stolen on Tuesday. Miss Scoates described seeing four men coming out of the kennels and running towards them shouting, before they drove off.

A facebook page called 'Missing Tibetan Spaniels' set up to publicise 6 Tibetan Spaniels stolen from the home of Heather Simper and Elisabeth Scoates

By yesterday, numbers joining the ‘Missing Tibetan Spaniels’ page on Facebook had swelled to more than 1,500.

Some people fear the dogs may have been spirited away, possibly to Ireland, to be used to make money from breeding. The appeal has also spread to Twitter, where celebrities such as Gary Barlow and Davina McCall have been asked to help.

One Tadley resident said a few dozen families live on the traveller site, adding: ‘I wouldn’t go anywhere near that place. I’ve heard the police won’t even go in there unless there are a few of them.’

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: ‘We are investigating and appealing  for witnesses.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080556/Online-pet-detective-solve-case-stolen-spaniels-retrieve-dogs-outside-travellers-camp.html#ixzz1i6yBqoIk

Courtesy of the Daily Mail

http://www.farplace.co.uk/

Farplace Animal Rescue has a free recycling scheme where you can help our cause without any cost to you. They can provide a collection box that our recycler empties and freepost bags for small cartridges and mobiles (although these can also go in the large boxes too).

"We help animals others reject like FIV positive cats in our cat hospice. We also purchase land for habitat creation and development and have purchased our first woodland in 2009 for this purpose.
You can sign up to the scheme here and the recycler we use will be in touch within a couple of days either with Freepost bags or with a box to save the cartridges in. If you have an existing box of cartridges we can also collect this".

Sign up now at http://www.farplace.org.uk/Page/22/Recycling/
They can also take used stamps - these can be sent to the following address (not a freepost alas) - Stamps N All, Dept FAR, PO Box 83, Bude, EX23 0WY

They also have guaranteed places in the GREAT NORTH RUN, GREAT MANCHESTER RUN and BRIGHTON MARATHON - details can be found on their website in the Events section.

Harry 

Persian, fluffy male cat with a distinct grey and white coat, bushy grey tail, neutered, relatively friendly but doesn’t like being picked up. He has a red collar and a black ball magnet attached to it.   Last seen near the River Wandle by Rawnsley Avenue, Mitcham, postcode CR4.

He went missing onthe 24^th December 2011.

There is a reward offered for his safe return.

Tel: 07739 706607

MIARed Female Hungarian Vizsla (Age: Puppy)

Missing from Kirkfield Bank, Lanarkshire, ML11 area, (Scotland). On Friday, 16th December 2011

CONTACT: 07766 115244

AXEL

BLACK & TAN Male Doberman 

Missing from BARNBY CROSSING / BULLPIT LANE CROSSING , NG24 area, (Central) on Thursday, 8th December 2011

Possible sighting in the  Beacon Heights area

There is a REWARD for AXEL's safe return.

CONTACT: 01636 674345

SCOOBY

Chocolate Brown With White Male Sprocker.

Missing from Shepley Road, Barnt Green, Birmingham B45 8JW, B45 area, (Central) on Thursday, 24th November 2011

There is a OFFERED REWARD for SCOOBY's safe return.

CONTACT: 07769 902441 or 0121 4456442

Friendly young female and vocal Brown Rosetted Bengal Cat last seen half way up Churchill Road in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire at approximately 18:00 on 14th December 2011

Significant reward offered for safe return.

Very much missed family mischievous pet

Missing Cat Alert. Missing from 6.12.11

Ginger and white colouring with amber eyes, neutered, three year old male, neutered and micro-chipped,lost from Hawkchurch which is on the Somerset/ Devon border EX13.

Jack, Missing Cat Alert.

Jack is a 3 year old black and white DSH. He was wearing a red safety color. He is microchipped. At the moment he has a shaved belly as he has been unwell, he is on twice daily medication which obviously it is important he gets. He has a white belly and feet and white bridge of nose with a little black nose. He was last seen near the centre of town in St. Ives Cambridgeshire, PE27. He likes to sleep a lot and hoping he has taken sheltor somewhere as it was very windy the night he went missing. Please get in touch if you have any information

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