4 days ago
Roxie was feared lost by the seaside - until something 'wonderful' happened
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An island of dog lovers held its breath when a treasured pet went missing during a walk. Roxie, a five-year-old Jack Tzu, had scampered out of sight across dunes and hours of searching had drawn a blank.
Her frantic owners, Liz Richardson and husband John, were joined by volunteers as Anglesey's social media community anxiously waited for news. In the early hours of the morning Roxie was spotted by 'pure luck' by a drone pilot using a thermal camera.
Drone video of the rescue shows rabbits scattering in her wake as she ran across dunes at Aberffraw. Guided by drone pilot Dafydd Edwards from Holyhead, Roxie was picked off the common before being handed to her disbelieving owner.
Only two months earlier, she'd put to sleep an older pet dog. 'I couldn't bear to lose another,' she said. 'Even when I heard Roxie had been found, I didn't dare believe it until I saw her. Then I couldn't stop hugging everyone, I was so grateful.'
The drama began on Monday lunchtime (June 16) when mum-in-law Margaret took Roxie and Liz's other dog Lola, a Shih Tzu, out for their daily walk. From Rhostrehwfa, near Llangefni, she chose to drive to Aberffraw on Anglesey's west coast: its huge dune complex, leading to the spectacular beach of Traeth Mawr, is a popular spot for dog walking.
But when Margaret encountered a couple with two large and affable dogs, Roxie took fright. 'In a flash, she was gone,' said Liz, 52, a nursing assistant at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. 'Poor Margaret spent an hour looking for her in a state of panic.' Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
Admitting defeat, Margaret call home. Liz and John jumped into their car to make the first of three visits to the dunes. After two hours they returned home to recharge their phones so they could post an appeal on Facebook. 'It set in motion a chain of events that was to eventually lead to Roxie being found,' said Liz. 'I still can't believe how many people wanted to help - we live in such a wonderful place here.'
(Image: Liz Richardson)
Acting on advice from online followers, Liz and John returned to leave food and familiar-smelling clothes in the area in the hope Roxie would be drawn to safety. One location was where she was last, another was near a cottage following a reported sighting.
Joining the search was local man Richard Mulcahey. 'He stayed with us the whole day,' said Liz. 'We didn't get home until 1.30am the next morning. He was incredible – I contacted him afterwards to say he was my hero!'
Unknown to Liz and John, conversations were being had online and one of these was to lead to Dafydd Edwards, a volunteer drone pilot with rescue charity Drone SAR For Lost Dogs (DSFLG) UK. With more than 3,500 pilots and 3,000 ground search volunteers, it helps to reunite some 750 dogs each year.
(Image: Planes & Drones/@dafyddwedwards)
With light fading Dafydd, an architectural designer, headed to Aberffraw. He was flying a DJI Mavic 3T drone. Equipped with a thermal camera, it was throwing up numerous heat signatures. 'I came across rabbits by the dozen and a darting fox, sending our hearts racing as we hoped we might be closing in on Roxie,' he said.
'Flying at night with a thermal camera is much easier than searching during the day, when there are lots of people around and it's harder to differentiate objects.'
(Image: Drew Buckley/NRW)
After getting through two batteries, initial optimism was fading. By then the wind was blowing hard, forcing Dafydd to fly low at 10-15 metres. 'The drone was on the edge of its capability,' he said.
Thirty minutes after arriving back in Rhostrehwfa, Liz got a call. 'Dafydd said he'd spotted her!' she said. 'So we bombed out again.'
With so many rabbits around, finding a small dog like a Jack Tzu – a Shih Tzu crossed with a Jack Russell – was never going to be easy. Dafydd said he picked out one heat signature that seemed a little larger and, when he zoomed in, it appeared to be a dog. 'It was pure luck,' he said.
'I kept tracking the dog but as soon as Liz and John arrived, the battery ran out again and I needed to make another change. I was worried I'd lost Roxie but luckily she was still in the same spot when the drone went back up.' Get the best island stories from our Anglesey newsletter - sent every Friday
(Image: Liz Richardson)
John and Richard were guided to the location. 'We had a lot of advice from Facebook users, especially Gillian Metcalf,' said Liz. 'We were advised not to all shout Roxie's name in case she took fright.
'When John was closing in, he was calling out gently for Lola instead - the idea was that Roxie would be curious and feel she was missing out on something. It seemed to work - she was quickly back on a lead.
'I could scarcely believe she was back and unharmed, I couldn't stop thanking everyone. I've been overwhelmed by everyone's kindness. In this day and age, you think there aren't many people willing to help for nothing, but this shows that's not true. I count myself so lucky to live here.'
Dafydd, who's called out once or twice a week to look for lost dogs, said the rescue had been a dramatic mix of 'persistence, adrenaline and pure happiness". 'It's always very rewarding when you make a successful rescue,' he added.
Liz has since made a donation to DSFLG UK and has signed up at volunteer searcher. In return, she's being sent a dog tracker - to ensure little Roxie doesn't get up to more mischief in fields of rabbits.
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