Time to take stock

No calls today. Food untouched on kennel.
Not heard from the bloodhound club secretary - Ian from Bournemouth has sent her a message but thinks she might be doing the bloodhound show in Bedfordshire.
Have spoken to a lovely lady called Kate from the Rugby area who has trials dogs (border collies) who are excellent at tracking humans. They've not tried tracking another dog before now though. The paw prints are still there at the Lount but there's been a steady wind since Wednesday and although Kate is prepared to give it a go tomorrow morning, we feel that with no food gone, the best case scenario is that Meg the dog picks up a scent but eventually it will lead nowhere, she could get stressed, and we will be using up Kate's time, when it may be better "saved up" for another sighting.
We feel there's no point in setting the trap at the moment either, until either the food has gone for a few days or there are more sightings.
With only 6 days until we depart to New Zealand we need a bit of a think through various scenarios.
For the first time in many weeks we have a clear weekend to prepare.

White noise

Am sitting here with a headache, enjoying my retreat to a quiet room! (Ffion)
I seem to have been on the phone all day and have just spent a couple of hours driving my cheeky Jeepy (I reckon its headlights and grill look like a face :-0 ) with a very noisy metal trap in the back, up from Toddington Services on the M1 after meeting the very lovely and helpful Martyn Soar, who has a good reputation for tracking and trapping dogs. Thanks for the contact, Jon & Shelley.
We exchanged information and apparently chicken covered in garlic butter, or KFC chicken (hmmm would have to abandon my battery chicken morals there) are favourite lures. Sue at doglost.co.uk recommends camouflaging the trap this time around. Will do.
The trap at a local rescue centre is out on loan, hence my 3 hour jaunt, leaving Tim, and Rod (blog follower) running the course I was meant to be doing all day. It's OK, I was only in the audience - not even a walk on part.
Phone calls today were just white noise I think, none from the Hot Zone:
Numerous calls back and fore sorting out logistics this morning, talking to dog trainers to find one that can follow scents (more calls to make this evening - had to put that on hold since it wasn't looking possible to get yesterday's fresh scent followed today - but useful to be prepared from now on, if it is possible). Thanks to Tori for helping with calls.
2 calls for Heskey the black lab who wanders up to Ibstock High St.
1 call for a heavy set lab with a blue collar in Enderby.
1 call for a black lab with a scar on its back in Hamilton, Eastern outskirts of Leicestershire, 2 weeks ago (seen our ad in the Mercury today). Scar described as 2 inches, parallel or along spine, with pink skin. So doesn't match up (see picture below). Slim lab, off lead but appeared to be with a man. For the moment we may have to park that but it may be worth a trip there at the weekend to see if any local dog walkers recognise the description.
In the meantime:
Tori tracked down a black lab from a farm in Newbold Verdon for us!
Pat my housekeeper took Ben (Sky's friend) to scent around the kennel which we've now relocated to the Lount. I've checked the food this evening but it's untouched. Pete and Bren put food in a bowl in their garden (remember they'd seen a black lab in their garden a couple of times in December so we did a feeding station and camera there in January, which yielded Mr Badger only). Their house is in the HZ.
Plan for tonight:
Call a lady back who may be able to help with the scenting, and discuss strategy for if we get another sighting / what to do with the trap.
Oh and take some paracetamols.......

Hot zone reinstated as truly hot

I don't want to get too excited but the hot zone which went quiet 6 weeks ago and therefore became the cold zone, is hot again after a sighting at 12.30 in the Lount area by the brook - the same as the infamous day when we all gave chase (not knowing this was the wrong thing to do), including some walkers who also saw the black lab.
The lady who called has seen him several times (most but not all of which we knew about! - they are on the sightings log in one of the comments we posted further down the Blog starting with the 2nd day he was missing when a black lab came and sniffed her collies then ran off). She thinks this is the 4th time, always running! She watched him for 5 mins in the distance out of her top windows and after calling me, set sail in her car but he ran off faster than she could catch up. Probably just as well as we don't want to make him feel hunted. Sadly though, she didn't get close enough to confirm or refute a scar. Aaaggghh!
No accounting for another black lab other than a loose one, after 2 hours of combing the area. Thanks to Geoff for piling into his car at a second's notice again! Sympathy to Tori and Tim, stuck in Birmingham / Manchester respectively at meetings.
However no other sightings this afternoon since that time (it's now 17.10). Ffion and Ann the dog warden followed the paw prints in the mud to exactly the same place as where the walkers were that day so Ffion has moved the kennel to this spot.
Ann doesn't have a trap. Ours was stolen as you all know. So we might ask the tracking and trapping expert from Lincs for help. I am also going to ring the man with the bloodhound from Bournemouth who Jon & Shelley recommended. Strike while the iron's (or scent's) hot!
Where does he go inbetween times?
Could he be Botcheston dog? It's 5 miles as the crow flies, from the eastern edge of the hot zone.
I did the houses around the road from Friday's Botcheston sighting (that was last night's phone call) and there are 2 black labs, neither of which wander, and both of which are of heavy build.
Thanks to Esmond and Ally who did the edge of Botcheston which borders that area and discovered that lots of people knew about Sky (good thing) but hadn't seen a black lab (bad thing) but equally couldn't account for it by a local dog (good thing).
Hmmm
Will we ever get out of this nightmare?
If anyone has help to offer tomorrow / Friday please text me on the number above or email ffion.davies@doctors.org.uk as Tim and I are meant to be on a 2-day course (local fortunately) and could do with a plan A, plan B and plan C for whatever phone calls arise. Thanks

2 leads are better than none

2 calls today.

A phone call from Rugby about a Black Lab found. It took Ffion quite a while to untangle the phone calls (the initial phone call came from a lady who was told about the dog by a friend). Eventually detective Ffion spoke to the lady who found the dog, established that it was probably not Sky and that the Dog Warden had been called so if it were, we would know as soon as the dog was scanned.

Second call 10pm. Black lab sniffing around verge by side of road last Friday morning on the Markfield Lane going from Botcheston to Markfield, just by the first row of (4 or 5) houses - Meadow View Rd, not far from Kirby Grange nursing home. This corresponds with a call 3-4 weeks ago from the same place that Tim didn't get to the bottom of. Ffion will go there on her way to work in the morning and see if there's anyone to ask.

We are putting this ad in the papers in Leicester, Nottingham and Birmingham this week, hoping that people in these areas will check out all Black Labradors even if they are with someone.

Camera on Green Lane is still in action, but nothing interesting recorded and nobody is eating the food. It is very much easier to service the camera and feeding station now as it is staying light so much later - but this is also very depressing as it emphasises just how long he has been gone.

We have been following the trials that Shelley and Jon have been going through looking for their lost dog Jacob. Such a co-incidence that they are getting reports from very close to where we used to live near Bishop's Stortford. We so hope that they get some firm leads. Their support and understanding has really kept us going.http://missingbraccojacob.blogspot.com/

Rocky road

Today saw 3 phone calls in quick succession, all about Rocky, it turned out - but reassuring that as soon as a black lab pops out on his own, people are switched on.
The Parcelforce man (caller no.2) had pinched one of our posters so he could keep driving but ring us at the same time!
Not sure if we should say something to Rocky's owner. It seems a bit unfair that people are going out of their way to react, when he really needs to keep the dog from wandering. Of course they're genuinely disappointed when I say "you mean near the scout camp? "yes" - Oh sorry that will be a dog belonging to a nearby house who's taken it into his head to wander lately. Other people are desperate to find our dog for us.
Tim went back to A42/A511 hotel and McDonald's the other day. Seems like a black labrador cross with a name tag saying "Mill Lane" has been hanging around, which may explain the sightings. We tried "mill lane" on various searches and the nearest we could find was around 10 miles away in 2 directions (Loughborough and Stoke Golding area). There was no match on any of the lost dog websites we could find, so we gave up. Bit frustrating - we sincerely hope there isn't a desperate owner out there who hasn't "blitzed" the internet and media like we have.
We have decided to relaunch adverts in the local press - Messengers, Leicester Mercury, Coalville / Hinckley / Coventry Times with the suggestion of "possibly stolen" in case he's sitting on someone's sofa being fed caviar (thanks Paula for putting more posters along the canal and telling us about Holly who went missing for a week and was found scoffing smoked salmon at someone's house!)
Ffion managed an hour in the garden yesterday and then Paul the farmer in his mid-20's who had turned up to cut our hedges, had to shift from foot to foot and look uncomfortable as he mentioned Sky, prompting yet another avalanche of tears. Poor Paul!
Meanwhile we cross fingers for Jon & Shelley with another possible sighting.

Nice day to be outside

C'mon Sky. Today was a beautiful day and you should be out enjoying the sunshine, prompting some phone calls.
No such luck.
Tripe sticks by the kennel untouched. Technical problems with the camera.
The hunt was in the "hot zone" today. didn't seem to make any difference. Although the "hot zone" now seems to be the "cold zone".
No information back from the police.
Life in the Coats household seems to take on a different phase. Ffion worked on project work by the computer all day. Tim caught up with chores outside. Paul the farmer came to cut our hedges. Tomorrow need to buy seeds, do some sowing, cut back the raspberries - for Ffion this is venturing into our lovely 6 acres for the first time since Sky went missing. It has felt impossible to be outside without him up to now. Tomorrow will be quiet a psychological step for Ffion.
Thanks to Val today for replacing some of the Barlestone posters, to help dispel the myth that he is found.
I really wish better luck for Jon and Shelley. It's hard to stop actively doing something and just lie in wait, hoping the network will work, and the phone will ring.

white van man

Sharp-eyed Bren spotted a white van similar (possibly identical?) to the one parked in the lay-by on Monday when the trap was stolen, in exactly the same spot this afternoon, with a scruffy looking man there. This time we got the licence number. Thanks Bren!
Pete called me and I called the police but haven't heard back. The van left before the police could have got there but I'd hope they'd run the licence plate through their system and if they found lots of previous criminal records would find some excuse to "pop by" in the next day or two.
I have a little dream that in this person's address they find our Sky, and this person is sabotaging us just to get us off his trail.

No phone calls from the hotel or McDonald's. Sounds like this was yet another red herring.

One of receptionists today cut out a bit from a newspaper where a family in Montana USA lost their retriever who darted after some deer, and 6 months later after a Montana winter (which would make ours look like a little cold snap) he popped up and was reunited with them. No-one could account for where he'd been or how he'd survived. Now I know Leicestershire isn't rural in a Montana kind of a way, but still there's hope. Very nice of our receptionist to think of us and try to cheer us up.

ticking over

Not much to report - Tim called back into work last night so from morningtime yesterday only saw home 23.00 - 01.00 and 05.30 - 08.30. It's so hard doing Sky stuff as well as a more-than-full-time job, but every time I pine for him it spurs me on.
Hedges were cut yesterday and kennel now sticking out like a sore thumb.

Tim moved it and forgot to reset the camera.

Ffion teaching all day long.

8pm trek to right the camera but forgot to snaffle the memory card to have a look.

Can't seem to string thoughts together enough to complete a simple task, we're so tired.

Had to call poor Darren to tell him his trap is stolen. He just said how sorry he was for us, which made us feel even worse that he was so understanding....!

Thanks to Rachel who chatted up builders outside the hotel, and McDonald's staff today, and left a trail of publicity but sadly found no firm leads.

We are wary that Barlestone folk are potentially getting a bit complacent and attributing every black lab sighting to George so if Tim has time in the morning he'll drop some posters off for Val. Can't ask him his schedule - he's snoring on the sofa! Better go and rescue him before he wakes up with a bad neck.

Sex and fast food

2 phone calls today.
First Barlestone, just off Manor Rd. A black lab has been hanging around all day, and there's a bitch in heat nearby. We suspect George, since he has a well known healthy sexual appetite, and Sky hasn't a clue. Also it's very suburban and if the dog had a scar on its back I think we'd have had more calls plus something more definite. Anyway Pat and Carmen are on the lookout and asking people.
Second was the A511 / A42 junction. A man stopped in a layby on the A444 nr Twycross today, saw our poster, has labs of his own, and remembered 2-3 weeks ago seeing a black lab on 2 occasions hanging around the car park of the Premier Inn on the roundabout nr Ashby Tesco's. There is also a McDonald's there and when Tim went to check it out there is rubbish everywhere, so quite a magnet for a scavenging labrador.
The hotel is closed for refurbishment. The builders and landscapers at the hotel had disappeared for lunch. McD was beserk with screaming children because of half term holidays and the queue was so long Tim gave up as he had to be in work. We will try again in the morning and if there is anything positive will put some posters up. The sighting corresponds with a call from the same area on January 11th and a call from 2 miles away from there Dec 18th, so we want to follow it up.
The police rang Pete today to get more information on the white transit van so it's nice that they're taking the whole thing seriously.

Double blow

Back down again today.
Tori, bless her, has trawled round all farms in the area of the Twycross setting, and found out that there were other sightings at the weekend. Unfortunately in the next farm she went to she discovered a black labrador with a black collar and metal dangling tag who has taken it into his head to search for foxes or just go for a jolly since Xmas, and would go that distance from the farm. He was AWOL sufficiently often last week to match the sightings.
Then between 15.15 and 16.30 this afternoon our trap was stolen.
Tim and Pete had seen it around the 2 o' clock mark. When Tim returned at 16.30 it was gone. Pete had returned home from a trip out around 3ish and saw a white transit van parked in the pull-in. After he unloaded his trailer he decided to drive up to it but the white van had gone and the trap was undisturbed. However an hour later Tim found it gone.
We think that on finding Tim's anchorage which consists of a metal bar with a bolt and padlock they realised they needed bolt cutters or something, nipped off, got the kit, and then stole the cage. They must be quite local to have done all that in that time frame. We have our suspicions (knowing where white vans go in and out the whole time, locally) and have reported it to the police, who were lovely again.
Don't know where to go from here.
Time for lots of Tim and Ffion hugs and a rethink in the morning.

A quiet day

Typical - when you're not rushed off your feet in work and have a day at home, the phone stops ringing.
Thanks to Val and Fay who went brainwashing anyone they could find today.
Thanks to Jo who first rang us on Thursday evening, for ringing back to enquire how we're getting on.
Tomorrow's plan:
Ring Oak FM and get an update out to local listeners.
Ring Ann the dog warden to give her an update and check there's not another black lab reported missing or loose.
Wait for phone calls - the hunt yesterday could have moved him to quite a different area. As people go to work etc they may see posters and we just have to be patient.
The behaviour of Twycross dog is bolder than Green Lane dog. Either it's another dog, or Sky / Green Lane dog is getting more confident or more hungry. Since the description isn't a skinny dog you might (??) hope more confident which would be fantastic, as someone might eventually entice him to them.
Plan to keep the trap going off Barton Lane at the bottom of Green Lane.
Tim put a new kennel up yesterday with an internal camera this time, alongside Green Lane but in a different location from previously. We are aiming for low maintenance - once daily car battery switchover, and tripe stick instead of a dog's dinner. Today 2 out of 4 tripe sticks had gone but the camera had swivelled backwards! Hope to catch footage tonight / tomorrow. Mr Foxy is under suspicion right now.

Dog calls, like buses, all come at once

Why do you have 2 and a half weeks of silence then get 6 black lab phone calls in a 30 hour period in 1) south of Newbold (Rocky again) Fri morning 2) Arnold's Cres Newbold Fri morning (2 miles north of (1), definitely different dog but unaccounted for - thanks to Geoff for scrambling) 3) Barlestone outside the Co-op Fri evening (sniffed the lady's shopping, she thinks too dark to see scar, we think she would have, described as very thin with loose collar). Wearing a collar so not George our well known wandering Sky impersonator in Barlestone!
Meanwhile back on the Twycross trail, the massive effort today by Tim, Tori and Rachel is paying off. There is definitely a black lab on the loose. Tuesday afternoon he was seen halfway to Sheepy Magna. A man working outside his house heard a car door shut and a car drive off on a very quiet road, which is unusual, so looked up and saw a black lab barking at the car and then ran off. Described as average build; healthy. Not close enough to see scar and not sure about collar. He rang as soon as Rachel put the leaflet through the door.
On same lane Thurs evening, just before the lady who called us on Thurs saw him, another young woman driving home from work saw him in almost the same spot, slowed down, he looked at her, she had 2 cars pull up behind and there was nowhere to pull in, so had to drive on. She told her dad as she wanted to go back, and he called us today as soon as Tori put a leaflet through the door!
Definitely the same dog but she said he certainly wasn't thin. However she's adamant that it's Sky from looking at the leaflet. Describes a dark collar and metal tag dangling.
Does he look bigger because he has a thick coat and has a good food source?
Was the dog dumped out of the car on Tuesday or did the car stop to try and catch him?
Is it Henry the mild mannered janitor............? (sorry getting carried away now)

Spreading the word

So today was a binge on the poor residents of Twycross.
Quite good awareness which on the one hand is reassuring, but on the other is depressing if it doesn't generate phone calls. Also I called back the lady who saw the dog last night and got depressed when I enquired about its build which was "wasn't exactly underfed" and we know Sky is normally slim and should be I suppose even more so right now.
However the dog walkers and farmers which Tori and I accosted today couldn't account for a loose black lab in any other way, so maybe??
Thanks to Rachel who also helped blast the residents of Sheepy Magna today.
We got lots of schoolchildren interested, which is bound to be a good thing with half term next week.
The countryside is very open and rural with lots of copses and outbuildings, so ideal for a Sky. Most of the farmland is Crown Estate, so at least our dog has good taste and high standards.
The lady at the zoo lost her dog for 4 years then got it back because of its microchip. Please Sky, don't do that to us.... to be fair it was stolen, and turned up in a rescue centre in London. Not quite the same.
Tomorrow Val, Pete, Fay and husband, and Rachel are off walking and accosting with flyers. Tori and Tim are postering and chatting. I'll be in work wishing I wasn't.
Can I just mention 2 things? Jon & Shelley's new blog about missing Jacob
http://missingbraccojacob.blogspot.com/
Please support them with words of encouragement - it helps, honest.
Also locally there is a rescue Rottweiler called Ben, aged 6-8, who is blind and needs a good home. All he wants is cuddles. He looks gorgeous in the photos and needs lots of love. Let me know if you think anyone can help. I want him. Tim says no right now, because I'd have to give up work. If you all do a petition, Tim might change his mind ;-)

At last - another sighting!

The silence is broken and yes, he's moved slightly to another area where we have less publicity.
Around 5.30pm this evening a lady driving home travelling north from Sheepy Magna coming into Twycross saw a black lab running down the road. She stopped the car and got out and he went into the field on the right. She got within 6 feet of him to try to catch him, he barked and ran away. She describes a metal collar (not right - Sky's is black leather with a metal buckle) and a tag. However we know from tracking down other dogs that precise collar descriptions are not always accurate.
She told a friend who walks to Congerstone with her dog who'd seen our publicity and drove to where she knew there was a poster and called me with her friend's mobile number. So the system works!
For those who aren't from around these parts, this represents a move westwards of around 3 miles so no surprise. It's very rural.
So volunteers are needed for tomorrow if anyone's free?
Shops, pubs, footpaths, village noticeboards need posters (we have one in the middle of Twycross and one in the middle of Sheepy and that's it).
Need to put flyers in doors of anyone with any sizeable property or on the edge of the village.
Need to chat to people to see if anyone's noticed a black labrador.
Need to walk the couple of footpaths leading east out of Twycross.
Obviously it's important we don't swamp the area and scare him off so if people could call me on my mobile 07951-722747 I can co-ordinate. Please avoid 10-11am as I'm supposed to be on a teleconference to London, but at the rate I'm going I'm too excited and may ditch it!
Ann our dog warden fortunately covers that area too, and will go out there tomorrow. If we get any more sightings she has a 2nd trap we can deploy.
I'm also going to pop in to the vet to see if they know of dogs who've just given birth. Ann says the smell of new pups and milk is highly interesting and could entice him into a trap.
Lastly Ann says she's had a few dogs turn up at Twycross Zoo, as if it's the animal smells or the food which attacts them!! I'm going to the Zoo tomorrow (my favourite local place anyway) and if I see young Sky snuggled in with the monkeys he'll be told off.
Ffion

Dogs are survivors

So today we've put a juicy shoulder of lamb in the trap, the sun is out for the next few days, and not much snow forecast. Come on Sky - time to come out of your hidey hole!
Had a really useful chat with Martin Soar, a dog tracking and trapping expert this evening. Really heartening for him to say that it just goes like this, and there's a good chance he'll pop up again. He said what we thought - in this weather he won't be out and about much. Also that they really do survive on what little food is around the countryside even at this time of year.
We seem to be doing all the right things otherwise. We just need to keep the publicity up so that people report things and don't get "lazy".
We perhaps need to widen the publicity field as the dog's territory can be 15 miles wide.
In case any bloggers think we're completely nuts, I'll post a comment below with the log of the most likely sightings (one offs and unlikelys weeded out). They total 22! The log of the first week was only put together as a jigsaw 3 weeks or more later, as people started to know about Sky and say something. Such a shame - those were the crucial days when we stood the best chance.
Jon & Shelley in Saffron Walden are going through the same turmoils as us. Tried to go for a pub lunch but just felt guilty they weren't driving around looking for Jacob. They're doing a blog too, as it's a great way for everyone to stay up to date. We cross fingers and hope for them.

Rocky taken back home

We had a call about a lost Black Lab at lunch time today. It didn't sound like Sky (described as heavyset with a blunt face), but we went to have a look. Ffion spotted him behind a copse - it was amazing how he completely disappeared by the time we had stopped and turned round. Ffion went on foot and I drove to cover both sides of the wood. She spotted him and went into the "how to attract a lost dog" routine (thanks to Sue from dogslost.co.uk).  Ffion didn't look straight at him, talked softly and showed a biscuit. Then she started to walk away and the dog ran up to her.

Rocky had his phone number on a tag on his collar so was soon taken home (the offer of a biscuit made him jump straight into our car!).

So although the dog was not Sky it was a great opportunity to practice our techniques for approaching a wary dog. The radios worked well to co-ordinate activity, the method of approach seemed very good and we also learned the importance of pausing to calm the dog once he was on a lead.

So we are happy Rocky is home, re-assured that we are still getting calls about Black Labs, but sad that we have had no sightings of Sky for two and a half weeks. 

Kennel stolen

More bad news. Ffion refreshed the food at both kennels around 11.30. Picture of yellow lab scoffing the lot at one of them 17.30 yesterday. Drove off to perch on a vantage point and do some work on her laptop for 2 hours. Returned 14.45 to find kennel half way up Green Lane stolen.
The bowl and food, the ball, the laminated poster explaining what we're doing, and the 2 large pieces of plywood to weather proof it were all lying in the snow. Large footprints (similar to the ones by the trap?) in a circle near it (fresh since Ffion was there earlier).
The Green Lane gets a lot of fly tipping (amongst other activities) so the 2 events may be unconnected and this time it's simple theft.
They got 2 pairs of yesterday's smelly socks for free too...........
Time for a strategy think this evening when Tim gets in from work.

Forward march!

Hello bloggers
There's a couple in Cambridgeshire, Jon & Shelley Haggerwood, who are in the same boat as us after losing their Bracco Italian hound, who had their story in national press yesterday (thanks Pete & Bren for spotting it). They are "7 weeks behind us" but are at the point we were at the 3 week mark (Jacob went missing 21 Jan). It was good to share notes and sympathies, and I suppose for them to know that they are not the only ones, although that doesn't help much does it.
Jon gave me 2 excellent contacts for 1) a man whose bloodhound has a track record (excuse the pun) for finding other dogs and 2) Canine Search & Rescue who have an experienced person to help us at the stage we are at.
In return I offered them some strategies for a sighting (the walkie talkies, map with vantage points, call-out list for help, etc that we've developed) and suggested a Blog, as it's so useful as a way of everyone being in touch.
Good luck Jon and Shelley! Jacob - get out there and be seen!

Men in boots

Thanks to everyone for you kind comments of sympathy and to pick us up.

This morning we reported the damage to Leics police and have a crime reference number etc. They were very helpful and supportive. We called Mr Dobson whose land we have the trap on, who was very sympathetic and hasn't asked us to move it. We may do, but at least we haven't upset him.

Current theories:

1. Is there hare coursing planned for this weekend? A week ago the camera caught someone aiming a gun away from the trap. At 16.37 yesterday 2 men in wellies were standing looking at the trap. We only have pictures from the thighs down.

2. Someone still thinks we are trapping badgers (remember we had the RSPCA call us a week ago because someone reported us thinking that we were)? We called the RSPCA to ensure that they clarify that we are not (if they had the caller ID which they don't in fact insist upon).

3. Is there someone who is an animal rights sympathiser or activist who doesn't realise that the whole point of the trap is to get Sky safe, away from dangerous roads and freezing nights, and the whole point of the camera is so we spot a captured wild animal straight away and can release it?

Anyway we will keep the camera away for a few days - Pete and Bren are being brilliant about checking the trap in between our visits.

The top photo is the last image caught last night - shows the lights of a vehicle which has just drawn up. Footprints of three men are in the snow circling around out of range of the camera and then across to do the damage.

The next photo of two men was at 16:37, no idea who they are.

The top image was caught last week - maybe we are getting in the way of some poaching.

-7 in temperature and mood

Just got in at 11pm and -7C outside and I think we're at our lowest point in this whole story.
The camera failed this evening so I drove out to check it and the trap just now, only to find the whole set-up smashed up by someone. Nothing appears to have been stolen (eg camera / laptop) so I am suspicious that maybe the person who reported us to the RSPCA still doesn't understand what we are doing and is trying to stop us. I had last checked it at dusk (5.45pm). The last picture was at 19.23. Nobody in sight in that one.
Tim is still in work so I called him to tell him.
Combined with 2 days of no food going from the kennels and no fresh leads on sightings, it's a sad moment.
Tomorrow we'll have a rethink of strategy when we're less upset and tired, and are able to check the equipment over in daylight. Doug your laptop looks to be undamaged. Hopefully on its hard drive are the 19.22 and 19.21 shots.
Thanks to Elaine, Peter and family who've offered to do a walk in the "hot zone" on Sunday. Thanks to Ken, South Carolina, USA, who called tonight just to support us. Ken knows what it feels like to have a dog vanish.

A quiet Wednesday

Technology working great at last. However nothing to report despite nice crispy, dry, sunny Sky-type-of-a-day!
No food gone from either kennel. Nothing on either camera.
No new paw prints in the vicinity of the kennels or trap.
No sightings.
Tori managed to cover an hour or so for us of the south end of Green Lane at "prime time" (1-2pm) but no walkers, no dogs............
Just a barn owl hunting across our field at home at 7 a.m. which was beautiful to watch.

Initial Excitement

Yesterday was the first day with a motion sensitive camera at one of the feeding stations and you can imagine how excited we were when we first saw this video recorded at 13:20. However just in the last few frames we can see a person (probably female) coming into view and the black lab runs towards her. She is too far away to see our notice asking any dog owner to text us if their dog eats the food. There were another 5 clips in addition to this one, and we had convinced ourselves that there was a scar on this dog's back, although the definition on the video is not really good enough to be 100% sure.

So to put our minds at rest we will now be hanging around the Green Lane in the early afternoons to see if the lady walks her dog here again!

Anyway the good thing is that we are able to see who is eating the food so we will know if the food disappearing is something or nothing.

Tuesday's greedy labs caught red-handed

We've set up a camera on one of the 2 kennels with great success(ish): 3 labradors (no other breed, surprise, surprise!) all came and helped devour the bowl full of food. Well at least the system's working. So we've topped up the bowl, emptied the memory card and reset it to see how many other guzzlers come by.
The Barton Lane near the trap had fresh dog paw prints without human prints this morning at 0800 (there were also badger prints) but they veered back onto the road at the gap where the kennel is, missing it out!! We're pretty sure they aren't fox prints. I even added some goat's cheese to the roast joint in there last night for extra whiffiness. Hmmm...
You'll see the time and date in the top left of the webcam picture now, since it seems to not want to load the bottom part of the picture at times. It's probably objecting to the minus 5C temperatures, which is fair enough.
Should we move the trap closer to the kennels? The advice seems to be to sit tight at the moment. It can take this long for a dog to feel comfortable around it.
One call to Botcheston today, not tracked down, but the black Lab had a green collar. One to just keep in mind.

Can we spot a black dog in a snowstorm?

Heroic efforts in the snowstorm by Tori today. She checked the feeding stations at 12:30, and the food was untouched. However at 4:30 both bowls had been licked clean (banana gone as well as the meat and tripe sticks). Some vague animal footprints, but was snowing so much that they were not clear. no human prints. I will set up a camera on one of the feeding stations tomorrow to see what we can record (this will not be on the web as it is more basic technology).

The trap has had no activity - the trap camera has been a bit temperamental, but is working most of the time. Even if you cannot see the images on the web we can usually get to see a picture, but if the images are uploading you will see them at http://dougellison.com/cam/refresh_norm.html

We are becoming more interested in a disused railway line that is about a mile north of the Green Lane - this dog must be going somewhere when it disappears from sight for days on end. It is rarely visited and has lots of good dens (old signal boxes etc). I plan to go there tomorrow and see if there are any tracks in the snow.

Who is eating the food?

We are starting to see a pattern in the disappearance of the food:

A fox eats the meat, but little else. He darts at the bowl and doesn't lick it.
A cat eats the meat and fish, but not the biscuit or fruit.
A badger eats everything except banana, but does not lick the bowl clean.
We've caught mice red-handed in the camera too. Very Tom and Jerry. They eat meat and biscuits but not pilchards!
So the times that we think a dog has taken the food are when all the food has gone (including the banana) and the bowl has been licked clean. This has now happened three times in the last 10 days (compared with no food disappearing in the way in the previous 3 weeks). So does this mean that we are starting to get Green Lane Black Labrador to come to the feeding stations? Or does it mean that other dogs on walks in the area are eating it? We have put up notices for dog owners saying that we understand if their dog goes up to the feeding station and scoffs the lot, but asking them to let us know so we don't get false hopes and can replace the food.
Last time a bowl was cleaned out there was an Evian bottle 3 feet away, squashed in the middle with teeth marks - just like Sky would do... (but so would many dogs :-( )

Roast dinner and dogs with scars

Technical issues undergoing an upgrade. Back on line later we hope (thanks as ever to Doug and Helen). Link http://dougellison.com/cam/refresh_norm.html
Menu du jour in the trap has been upgraded to roast lamb shanks (following Marilyn's and Ann the dog wardens advice)!
Kirby Muxloe dog with scar lady has been eliminated from the enquiry. It's a surgical scar and lots of people have given the poor owner funny looks or interrogated her (I got this 2nd hand from prowling the area today and pouncing on an innocent chocolate lab owner who had the whole story).
There's motorbike racing today at Mallory Park and you can hear the familiar noise from our house. The wind is carrying in Sky's direction and we wish he'd hear it, remember you hear that at home, and follow it - he'd have to come through Osbaston if he took a direct line.......

Fri afternoon webcam

Possible sighting alongside trap at 5pm on webcam. Thanks very much Marilyn! Trap visited by Tori (to change battery for camera) similar time and pawprint seen in mud. Update midnight: I've taken the images off the laptop and unfortunately it was a bit of Tori! Never mind, keep those eyes peeled everyone.
Food gone from 1 of the 2 kennels this afternoon. Unlikely fox or badger during daylight. Took pilchards, gravy bones, Pedigree meat and tripe stick. Left banana!
Got call from RSPCA this afternoon as someone had reported us thinking we were laying a badger trap. We can assure everyone that the trap is for Sky. If a wild animal is caught then we have enough people around the globe keeping an eye on it that we would be called and it would be released within a short period of time. We are working with the dog warden and are assured that we are doing everything correctly and humanely.
I just hope that we don't get more complaints and have to move/remove the trap now that we think Sky is habituating to it and the area.
Got to talk to man who walks his dog in Kirby Muxloe who meets 10 other dog walkers for a natter every evening on their walks so breakthrough in spreading the word there about the 2 calls. Phew!

Midnight update - battery ran out again this evening on camera so we've just checked the trap. We'll get it back online in the morning after an overnight charge.

Food conundrums

Apart from more techical problems (now resolved) the rest of the day consisted of:

Feeding station Pete and Bren's garden - badger caught red handed on video! Left the banana alone. So badgers and foxes leave bananas. Useful to know. Some dogs do, some don't.

Kennel lower end Green lane - food untouched

Kennel middle Green lane - all gone except banana. Evian bottle dropped nearby. Is this Sky or is there a careless dog walker enjoying the free food and dropping litter? Can't put camera on this as too visible and likely would get stolen.

So only twice has the food all gone, licked clean, banana included. Both daytimes. Therefore either Sky or another omnivorous dog.

Phone call while at work from Newbold Verdon. Got close enough to see no scar. Description matched George the wandering labrador of Barlestone. Not known him stray that far so advised caller to call his owners and if in doubt, the dog warden. Ladies on our switchboard had to call back to see if it was Sky as they were desperate to know!

Strange woofs in Odstone

Got called this afternoon with 2nd hand report of sighting in Odstone 2 weeks ago then got call at 10.15pm from Odstone.:
strange barking opposite her (which matches the location of a previous sighting) upsetting the lady's own dogs, activating the floodlight, 6pm and 10pm. Pheasants and pheasant food are kept there. Barking sounded "funny" more terrier than labrador (she has black labs herself) but very persistent and when ran south towards village, set other dogs off. Didn't see it in the dark but could localise this funny barking.
I raced there from my late shift and got there 1 minute after floodlight activation, left the Jeep engine running (he recognises that), and tinkled biscuits in his metal bowl. Under normal circumstances that would have him at your feet from a 20 mile radius, drooling.
Nothing. Well, just one fox in the headlights.
Hope to despair again. Stuck around for an hour and now need to go to bed at half past midnight having just got home.
Food went from Green Lane kennel again (a mile from the above).
Bedtime prayer: PLEASE just go in the trap Sky, on your wanders tonight!!

Technical battles Wed 28 Jan

I knew our techno wizardry was going too well. The food went from Pete and Bren's garden last night, on the 2nd night of the camera reinstallation, and for some reason the camera recorded most of the 24 hours except the crucial few hours in the evening. Pete reckons Sky knows how to deactivate it.
Meanwhile the camera on the trap stopped at midnight. Not sure if it was rain, or just needed rebooting. With Tim in London and Doug on the other end of the phone Ffion's done her best at pressing random buttons but Doug needs to come out to fiddle. Hopefully back up and running mid afternoon, with Pete kindly keeping an eye on the trap in the meantime.
No food gone from the kennels in the last 24 hours.
It's probably time to tell you about the 2 strange Kirby Muxloe calls in case any of you have friends there, who can ask around and keep their eyes open.
First was last Thurs evening, frightened black lab in the walking area near the library. Very helpful dog walker says she's not seen it before and he was definitely on his own. Too dark to see if there was a scar. Then Saturday lunchtime a lady in her late 40s or early 50s was seen with a black lab on a lead with a scar on the Main St nr the Post Office. Passer by called us.
Ffion's rung the 3 nearest vet surgeries to see if they know of a black lab with a scar. Other than that, it seems unlikely the 2 sightings were the same dog but you never know. For those who don't know Leicestershire Kirby Muxloe is too far from Barton in the Beans for it to be likely it's the same dog as we're tracking.
Can't do a lot more except if anyone has any Kirby Muxloe contacts, especially "doggy" people, could they ask around to see if we can eliminate the one on the lead from the enquiry. I'm surprised the poor lady hasn't already been wrestled to the ground by a pack of strangers if she really has got a black lab with a scar on its back!

Camera Improvement from Doug and Helen

For those of you who are looking at the trap camera our technical wizards have developed a link which automatically refreshes so that you do not have to click the 'refresh' button to see a new image. It can be left running on the desktop and will always have the latest image shown. Click HERE to link to this.

No food had gone overnight last night. It is a bit odd that it was taken three nights running from the garden near the Green Lane, but last night when there was a camera in place - nothing. We are wondering if the red glow of the camera is scaring the animal. It did not seem to affect the fox and cat that we filmed previously, so we are not sure. I wanted to do a Randomised Controlled Trial (sorry medical joke), but Ffion said that we should leave the camera out tonight and then turn it off if the food still doesn't disappear.

Just in case Green Lane Black Labrador is not Sky we are also trying to cover the possibility that someone has Sky. At this stage we think that a vet or vet nurse is probably our only chance of locating him if he is out of this area. We have found that vets don't necessarily scan all new dogs so have put this advert in the Veterinary Times. This is delivered to every vet in the UK tomorrow and we hope that a vet or vet nurse will remember Sky's very distinctive scar and scan any dog they see with a scar like this.

Who is eating the food?

No further sightings and the only animal that we have seen in the trap is a robin. Not quite the animal that we were hoping for!

However, for the last three nights the food has been disappearing from a garden near Green Lane. Brenda very artfully put a layer of sand around the food and it has what look like dog footprints. So tonight I have set an infra-red camera up to see who is eating the food. (It isn't a sophisticated web camera so we can't look at it online, just have to download the images in the morning).

Also for the first time last night the food bowl at another seeding station was licked clean and there was a clear muddy dog footprint on the blanket inside the kennel. Are we at last starting to attract Green Lane Black Labrador or is one of the local dogs getting fat?

Patterns of Sightings in Green Lane

No food gone overnight and the trap is still undisturbed (it is the camera that is at an angle not the trap). We set the alarm to get up and look at the computer through the night, so are rather tired today. However as it was two weeks between recent sightings we will just have to be patient. 

We have been trying to put a pattern to the sightings of Green Lane Black Labrador. They have mainly been early afternoon, weekdays. We have also realised that NONE of the sightings has come from a person on foot - they have all been on a horse, in a tractor, driving a car or looking out of a house window. It may be that people on foot cannot see over the hedges, but it also may be that he is so frightened that he hides away whenever he hears anyone coming.

It is still well worth looking out for him while you are walking, but it is probably best to look at the bottom of hedges in the middle distance. From the footprints in the snow we saw that he was either in the woods or sticking very close to the hedge bottoms, hardly ever going out into an open field.

From Sue at the excellent doglost.co.uk we understand that dogs often move in a triangle. I wish we knew the other places that Green Lane Black Labrador is moving to. We are now asking people to walk more in the surrounding areas than in the Green Lane itself, as it might be better for the Green Lane 'hot zone' to be quiet.

Pete has had the brilliant idea of asking friends or relatives in different time zones to look at the webcam through our night (and phone us if the trap has been activated). This is a wonderful alternative to us setting the 3am alarm again. So tonight our trap in Leicestershire is being observed from Australia, America and New Zealand! The hunt for Sky has gone international!!

Sat 24th Jan Update

Unfortunately another quiet day after the excitement of last Thursday. None of the food has been touched and no sightings.


We have decided that the only way that we are going to get close enough to identify the Green Lane Black Labrador is to trap it. This doesn't sound nice, but we think is our only option. A local farmer, Darren, has lent us a dog trap, which we have placed at a point where the Green Lane Black Labrador has been seen several times. Our technical expert friends Doug and Helen have set up a webcam which sends us a photo of the trap every 2 minutes. So as soon as there is something there we will know. This is such a great facility to have - as it means that we do not have to go an check the trap every couple of hours (as we would not really want any animal to be in the trap for long). Just for the moment click here to see a picture taken in the last 2 minutes.


So we will be setting the alarm to check the picture every few hours during the night, and no wine tonight in case we have to drive!

An Overview of Strategy

From Ann the Dog Warden and doglost.co.uk we have some excellent behavioural tips on how to approach a feral dog. Apparently calling 'Sky', whistling or moving towards the dog is seen as very threatening and he will run away. It is much better to stand still, keep low and just watch what he is doing. If you have binoculars and can look for the scar on his back that would be excellent. If he is near enough to see putting your hand in your pocket and dropping a biscuit on the ground then backing away might entice him nearer. Don't move towards him.

We are not sure if he will still respond to Ffion or me. Apparently feral dogs often need to smell the owners before they respond to them, but will not let anyone get that close. All very frustrating. If you see a black lab please just watch him and call us.

The strategy at present is to find his regular haunts. We know about the Green Lane area, but where does he go when he is not there? We are trying to get him to come regularly back to the same place with the feeding stations, so that we can then set up a trap. The fact that a dog took the food on Thursday was exciting as this was the first time that food had gone (although of course it could have been a dog on a walk down Green Lane whose owner did not spot him guzzling).

If you are looking for a walk this weekend the Green Lane is pretty well patrolled, but it would be good to see if his other haunts can be spotted - so a walk would be good anywhere in the area bounded by Nailstone, Carlton, Congerstone, Twycross, Snarestone, Heather and Ibstock.

Update 23rd Jan

Finally, another call. Well two in fact. One to Kirby Muxloe last night, where a frightened black lab was seen at dark near the car park. We went over but no sign.
But the real excitement was earlier with a call at 2pm - guess where? Barton end of Green Lane again. A black lab crossed the road as a lady was driving along. She called us straight away which was great. This time our "search party" mobilised with precision and fantastic communication. We've been rehearsing! Walkie talkies, cars and maps at the ready, our "trained staff" (fantastic neighbours, friends and Ann the dog warden) covered all points.
While we were disappointed not to see the dog ourselves, we were delighted to find Sky's bowl at the kennel feeding station licked clean, and the tennis ball we'd left outside was deep in the kennel. This is the first time that the food has disappeared in 3 weeks of laying fresh food daily.
Of course any dog could have done that but apparently not that many dogs like pilchards as much as Sky!
Our plan at the moment is to try to make this dog's behaviour more regular, hoping that feeding at this place can become a habit. Today Ann has issued us with tripe sticks. Yum.
At least today we feel we have something to hope for and something to keep busy doing again.

Update 19th Jan

Had a call this morning from a man who had noticed a hand written note in the CoOp in Autrey about a found Black Lab. Took a trip out there, but found that the dog had already been re-united with its owners. Very happy for them, but still sad for us.

At least this was a happier trip than last nights following a call about a dead Black Labrador in a pub car park about 15 miles away from home. Fortunately it was not Sky, but sadly it did not have an identification tag so I couldn't contact the owner - it will be scanned by the Dog Warden today, so I hope that it has an identification chip.

All of these calls add to the roller coaster of life at the moment. We have cancelled our holiday to New Zealand, so at least we have time to follow up the calls at the moment. We are also maintaining a feeding station in the Green Lane area, with the scent of home being provided by spraying water each day mixed with the dust from our vacuum cleaner (advised by the experts at doglost.co.uk and our dog warden). Various pieces of laundry complete the 'olfactory trap' and seem to keep the foxes off the food. However none of the food is disappearing so if there was a feral dog, it seems to have moved away.

Possible Sightings 2 weeks ago

There are of course a whole number of possible theories about what has happened to Sky. He may have been stolen, as his wonderful affectionate nature makes him an ideal family pet. He may still be living wild, as our advice is that this is quite possible, even in the UK in winter. He may of course have died and be hidden away, although the countryside near us is pretty well covered by farmers, shooters and walkers.

For the first three weeks after his disappearance there was no trace. As time went on we heard of possible sightings in the first few days in a semicircle which missed home! Then we had a 10 day spell with several sightings about 2 miles from home in an area called the 'Green Lane' between Nailstone and Odstone. This is an area that Sky knows very well as he often walks this route, trotting behind the horse, however we always go by car to the start of the walk so he does not know his way home. The sightings all described a thin black labrador like Sky, although no-one got within more than about 100 meters as the dog ran away as soon as he saw anyone.

Then since 5th January we have had no more sightings, despite a lot of publicity. Several people in this area have put food out, which we have watched with an infra-red camera. Unfortunately we have only seen foxes, cats and mice. Well we were saying it was a cat and mouse game.........

With no new leads it is hard not to get very sad, however we keep hearing stories of dogs who have been re-united with their owners after a long period of time, so we are keeping some hope alive.

What have we done so far?

Our spreadsheet of activity now runs to about 10 pages! We have:
1) Phoned the local vets (who record details in a 'lost and found' book).
2) Phoned the RSPCA and added details to their national missing pet register.
3) Phoned the local animal rescue shelters (Leicestershire and Warwickshire).
4) Phoned the local dog wardens (each local Council has its own and they do not share information so you have to phone all).
5) Phoned the 'out of hours' dog warden (as information does not routinely get passed on this needs to be a separate call).
6) Put up posters over about a 5 mile radius, giving our contact details and the cutest photo we could find.
7) Asked local radio to broadcast Sky's details.
8) Placed adverts in the local papers over about a 20 mile radius.
9) Asked people who are working 'out and about' in the local area to put posters up in their staff rooms - postman (lady), DHL drivers, bus drivers.
10) Talked to the local farmers.
11) Went and talked to the local Travellers.
12) Posted Sky's details on the various 'missing dog' websites - doglost.co.uk, lostlabs.co.uk and others that I cannot remember at present (will do a future post on this).
13) Had an article in the Leicester Mercury about our search.

14) Set up a night vision camera (thanks to Doug and Helen) to investigate if food has been disappearing from any of the feeding stations - unfortunately this is all we found:

A summary of the story so far

Sky is our 4 year old Black Lab. He went missing from a neighbour's garden on 1st December - was one minute playing with their dogs and the next was gone. With our neighbours in the village (we live near Market Bosworth, about 10 miles west of Leicester on the Leicestershire / Warwickshire border) we all turned the local area upside down that evening, but found nothing.
Since then we have been on a rollercoaster, with lots of different theories and lots of activity, but unfortunately we have not found him.
I will break the rest of the story up into several posts.