Holly

Another false alarm today, but good to know people are still looking out and can locate our number quickly. A lady called Karen on the school run saw a black lab at a crossroads, soaking wet, matching the description for Sky but minus scar, and within no time had called us. It was north of Odstone, at the northern reaches of the supposed "territory" that we've been working on. So luckily we knew the area and fortunately have today off work so were able to launch into our routine, stopping and asking anyone who was out and about and knocking on nearby houses.
There's a gypsy camp very nearby so I couldn't help but get my hopes up, wondering if he'd been there all the way along. But stopping at a house with black labs, where I've stopped many months ago, an apologetic owner said that Holly had escaped this morning.
Still, better to have a sighting solved than not to.
Other than that there has been nothing since a mystery black labrador off the Barton Lane a month ago, in the centre of the Hot Zone. No calls since from there.
Tori and I did some scenting a couple of weeks ago, from there to home.
Val and Pete had a week on the Ashby Canal, put flyers up in the windows of their narrowboat, and it sounds like they talked to anyone and everyone about Sky. Thank you so much, you two. You've been solidly keeping up the momentum and the morale since the early days.
A phone call on Saturday evening nearly killed me off. We rang our friends who emigrated to New Zealand a year ago, because Bella their greyhound had an amputation last week for a tumour. Poor Bella. Alistair, who is now 3 and a half, said to Maggie the next day when Bella was whimpering: "Mummy, Bella's going to die today". Maggie says, comfortingly, "no she's not darling, we're going to look after her, she'll be all right". Alistair replies "but we didn't look after Sky".
How can all of that thought process and memory have gone on in a little mind that was less than 3 years old last December? I tell you dear friends, that has messed with my mind these last few days.
Tim's psychological cage was also rattled this morning, when a nice farmer that we stopped to ask about the 9 o' clock sighting said "I know how you feel. I've stopped having dogs. I've had them all my life but you just get too upset when something happens to them". But he did cheer Tim up with "Don't give up. My friend's dog went missing from Nailstone and turned up 6 months later in Coalville".
All we can do is hope that lovely people like Karen today will one day unlock the mysery that is Sky.