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Little Jack was picked up by his new family on Halloween, all ready to settle into his new life in his new home.
But on arrival at their West Heath home, the small black and tan terrier managed to slip his collar and ran.
In unfamiliar surroundings, Jack felt threatened by everything and everyone. He just kept running and running and running…. spooked by everything – including attempts by well-meaning passersby to capture and keep up with him – he endured dashes through traffic, heavy rain, chilly nights, a jaunt on the train tracks and seasonal fireworks.
For a week, Jack kept running around Longbridge and Cofton, rescuers keeping a close eye on his movements in the hope of bringing him to safety.
But thanks to K9 Search UK, The Animal House Rescue, Ross Bellamy and his dog, a Thelbridge Road resident and the many, many sightings reported by the community, Jack is today safe and warm and recovering, ready to settle into his new home.
In a message to B31 Voices readers, Jack’s family said: “Thank you so much for everyone who listened and supported us in rescuing Jack. We are extremely grateful for the kindness everyone has shown and we cannot wait to give him the love and home he deserves. Thank you all. 
”
We wish Jack and his family all the best as they finally start their lives together!
Read the full story of his rescue from The Animal House Rescue below:
When we got the call that a little dog had gone missing from Northfield near us on 31/10/2022 little did we know what a rollercoaster ride the next week was going to be.
Normally when we are out on these cases it takes a few days but once the dog has settled on an area we can get the traps out and bait them with kentucky chicken and then sit and wait for the dog to relax and go into the trap after the food…job done.
We work with K9 Search UK who takes phone calls of sightings and in this case B31 Voices who’s online appeal brought in a lot of other sightings too and we started tracking Jack. We had teams out constantly and his owner was out too, slowly working out the regular routes he was using as dogs on the run in most cases get to know an area within 48 hours and then expand as they get more confident. Jack never got confident but got to know a larger area due to him running away from people following him. We spent all day every day well into the early hours, travelling around to the different sightings and had people sitting with the trap watching and waiting.
We can’t thank the public enough for their help in this search because without the sightings we couldn’t have tracked his where abouts. Also to Ross Bellamy for his help and for Jacks eventual capture.Team work is what it’s all about!
Below is a rough breakdown of what happened, LOL it would take too long to write down all his escapades so heres the short version.
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On Tuesday he was spotted by Cofton Park and was followed round the area by his owner and us at a safe distance so as not to spook him as he was terrified until he used the cut throughs, and we lost him. He popped up a few more times but kept getting spooked and disappearing.On Wednesday he was using Longbridge centre and was spotted on Windsor Avenue where he was rummaging in rubbish in the bin sheds and he was clearly hungry, but again he didn’t stay put for long and by this time more people were out looking for him and he started staying away from groups moving around the area.
Thursday, we had sightings in Longbridge centre, Cofton Park, the Bristol Road at Longbridge and all the roads around Coombes Lane, he was just circling round and round the area and by now well meaning people were chasing him, he was so frightened by this point he was dodging in and out of traffic as he has no road sense at all, narrowly getting missed by a bus and van by Mcdonalds.
Friday he was spotted limping after being clipped by a car but this still didn’t stop him running at full pelt when he spotted people and by now he was also shying away from cars as people were trying to keep up with him around the roads. #
We had a trap set up where he was seen a few times but as it was Friday, there were way more people around and he was laying low with only half the number of sightings.The normal pattern a dog takes when on the loose wasn’t occurring because as soon as he was spotted, he got chased on again. But we persevered and carried on now with Ross who was helping as he lives nearby.
Saturday was bonfire night and although he was jogging round he got chased and ended up on the train tracks after running blind away from Cofton Park, thankfully he somehow made his way back off them and was spotted on Grovely Lane. Jack was not going to settle anywhere he was seen in so many different places over the rest of the day and evening, even we were shell shocked by noise from the fireworks.
Sunday we got the closest yet, spotted curled up on a doorstep on Nuthurst Road we managed to set up the trap, we asked everyone to let us do our job. Jack was exhausted and barely moved, the trap was set but we were told he had been fed by people on the area and he didn’t even think KFC chicken was worth getting up for, he had all but given up and was ready to come in. We managed to get within 4ft of him before a noise spooked him and then a jogger chased him off the area and by this time it was dark and he was impossible to see but we carried on looking before dropping Ross back home.
Monday AM……… Jack had come out of hiding and had turned up on Thelbridge Road in Longbridge where a lady had a rattan chair on her front garden, she and others in the road had been feeding the local stray cat and Jack had been popping up for a feed. Jack had curled up on a step a few doors up and then moved down to the woman who was outside having a smoke and she eased down into the chair and he allowed her to gently fuss him. She sat there and Jack decided today was the day and stayed sitting by her and leaned up her leg. Ross who was the closest took his laid back lurcher and a slip lead, went there and again quietly and slowly between them they got the slip lead on him, seeing the other dog he had stayed quietly by her side …. Jack was going nowhere
Lin arrived and Jack was taken to our vets for a thorough check over.
He’s a bit thin, is stiff on his back end, and has a limp but the vet thinks its muscular bruising and he is on strict rest for a few days and on pain relief, if he’s still stiff after that, then they will do x-rays at a later time.
He has gone back to Lin’s where he has had a bath and had all the twigs and stuff groomed out and he is much more relaxed now and he is comfortable as you can see. This little guy thinks he’s in heaven and can decide which is the best position to sleep in
Now we can celebrate that this little guy is going home safe. Once again thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, to all those that helped get this boy back where he belongs.
