Stock photo of a Welsh springer spaniel.Photo:Getty
Getty
A Welsh springer spaniel who went missing in the woodlands of Wales has been found after surviving nearly 60 days in the frigid wilderness.
Adam and Rachel Sergeant said they had taken 7-year-old Bea for a walk in Conwy Valley on Dec. 8 when she went missing,according to BBC. The weather that day was “foul,” the couple said.
“We were in woodland and got to an open area where there were sheep,” Rachel told the outlet. “So we called the dogs to put them on a lead, but Bea didn’t come — she’d just vanished.”
She added: “It was raining so hard, you couldn’t tell the difference between a footpath and a stream in places.”
BBC reported that there were alleged sightings of Bea over the next two months, but her pet parents still worried the dog wouldn’t survive the winter out in the elements.
Stock photo of a Welsh springer spaniel in water.Mirceax / Getty Images
Mirceax / Getty Images
The Facebook groupLost Dogs North Wales Areaoffered a hand in the couple’s search for Bea, utilizing tools like a thermal light camera and drones. The group also provided posters and hosted searches to find the lost canine.
On Sunday night, a farmer — who works 10 miles from where Bea was last seen — heard a noise coming from an area with a barbed wire fence. When he went to get a closer look, he saw a dog caught in the fence.
“I found Bea tangled in a mix of barbed wire and plain wire — the way she was caught up, it looked like she’d been there for four or five days,” he told BBC.
Because it was dark, the farmer took about an hour to rescue Bea with the help of his phone’s flashlight. He said the spaniel was “amazing” and did not try to bite him.
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According to vets, Bea was discovered in good health, although it is unclear how she sustained herself for so long in the wilderness.
“Our biggest worry was that she would struggle to fit back into family life, and might be aggressive towards the children, or our other dog Hatty,” Adam said. “But the minute she walked in, she was her usual self — calm and gentle, even with our youngest son, who’s nearly two. We don’t think she’ll get lost again… but we’ve already ordered a GPS tracker for her, just in case.”
source: people.com
