Bernard and Vivienne Fears are grateful and humbled by the Facebook community and the communities of Mandeville, Clarkville and Swannanoa, for helping bring Teddy home.
Teddy, an 18-month-old Schipperkes, took fright while attending a show at Mandeville at Labour Weekend.
For five nights the little jet black dog wandered around the area, lost and alone. Reports came in to a distraught Bernard via Facebook and by phone, from people who had sighted Teddy, which encouraged him to keep up his search efforts.
But Teddy remained on the run, with Bernard dashing from their Exmoor Schipperkes Kennels on the Woodend-Rangiora Road every time he received a report.
A friend had been holding Teddy while Bernard took Topsy, his bitch, into the ring. When he came out of the ring proud to have won the class, his friend and Teddy were missing.
His friend returned frantic because Teddy had taken fright and shot off through the crowd and he lost sight of him.
Bernard searched for him till dark, and was back at the crack of dawn on the Sunday, and searched until 7pm.
Reports of Teddy turning up in driveways, and running off before anyone could catch him, started to filter in as the fate of Teddy spread on Facebook and through the community.
Bernard, down-hearted and tired, did not give up even when there was a report a white van had stopped to pick up a black dog on Tram Road.
Bernard’s searches on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday came to nothing, with the occasional report of Teddy being seen, raising his hopes, and the possibility he might be trying to get home.
At 5am on Thursday Bernard set off to search again. At 7am he received a call saying a dog had been sighted. Two ladies in a pick up had seen him heading along the north side of Tram Road, and realised it was Teddy.
Bernard fortuitously was just two minutes away, and turned up in Swannanoa to find Teddy frightened and tired in a paddock off Tram Road, thanks to the directions of the two in the pick up.
‘‘The whole community were looking out for him. He was missing for five nights and was very lucky not to have been clipped by a vehicle, as he had been seen on both sides of Tram Road,’’ says Bernard.
‘‘He wasn’t hurt, just very tired and hungry.’’
Bernard wants to express his sincere thanks to everyone who helped in some way to bring Teddy home.
‘‘They didn’t even know us, but were compassionate and caring.’’
