General Chat

Given the high cost of training and so on do you insure for the global cost i.e. £ 20 K ?

https://caninepartners.org.uk/media/facts-and-figures/

Poor Opal. Her fate is in the lap of the gods.

keep hoping someone will find her <3

Four weeks and nothing !!!
Still hoping, though.

The law in England and Wales requires that dogs be kept on a lead on the public highway ie roads and footpaths. That's it. Elsewhere dog access to the countryside has only the civil duty that the dog must be under reasonable control. A properly trained dog will not need a lead esp collies and labradors. Access to public parks and beaches is controlled by local by law not the RTA. Most towns have areas where dogs can run freely plus beaches outside of summer months.

Theft is theft. If somebody makes a mistake eg keys in ignition, phone left in a bar, purse or wallet dropped, dog runs away that makes no difference to ownership at law. Of course insurers may demur to shell out it depends on the policy. However whoever has taken Opal is a thief. Also by now guilty of animal cruelty.

Sorry for Opal's loss but how can you say she has been stolen.
It was the fault of the person/people who were training her.
For one thing she should have been on a Lead (by Law) and kept being trained to walk to the lead.

A fortnight on and still no news.
I have contacted the RCVS to as whether they have any sort of system for alerting their members but am awaiting a response.
In the meantime, please keep sharing on Facebook and other social media sites.

She has her microchip so don't give up even through the darkest hour. Eleven years ago my cat was stolen this time of year. I was really freaked out but got him back.

So if she has been stolen. It is unlikely that whoever grabbed her intends to keep her, might already have sold her on for a few hundred pounds. A pedigree Labrador is expensive well beyond the means of many. There has developed in the UK a huge black market based on breeding from stolen dogs and Irish imports. Puppies with no / false docs at low prices find ready buyers no questions asked. Vets will chip any dog. Opal may well have been grabbed by these people. Sooner or later there is a chance a vet will read her chip but you need to refresh the event. It will also be worth following up on puppies for sale at low prices in the Midlands next year.

I am a little surprised that your offer of a reward has had no response. Try giving a figure and also posting in Polish, Chinese, Hindi. Say "information leading to" rather than all or nothing.

good luck

The latest conclusion is that she has been stolen, so could be anywhere.

If everyone could notify their email contacts we might have a chance of finding her.

Nudge .hope she is found safe x

Stoke & Staffordshire - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/stoke_and_staffordshire
3 days ago - Search on for missing £20k training dog. The Golden Labrador being trained to live with a disabled person went missing during a walk. 6 hours ..

wide exposure for her. plus a picture ......hoping something turns up.

With no news it looks possible that someone has found her and kept her, so may be out of the Uttoxeter area,
So if you notice that a neighbour has suddenly acquired a yellow labrador bitch puppy please see if anything arouses your suspicions.

Hope there is progress in finding Opal.

I had always thought something such as powered pet microchip was impossible 'cos obviously not poss. to implant batteries.

Google suggests that there will be something of the sort on the market though noy quite yet.

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/patents-filed-for-first-implantable-microchip-with-gps-tracking/

which according to the company would be a "game changer". How true. Apart from pets stuff of dreams for race horse owners and animal breeders.

The downside is that some regimes might find installing them in humans irresistable.

Rollo

Can you get the latest "chips" with GPS (optional) - I thought I read somewhere they were aailable ?

https://vetsgetscanning.co.uk/

Eleven years ago my kitten cat vanished six weeks before Christmas. He had been chipped but at that time scanning was even less routine than it is now. I printed off hundreds of photo sticky labels + small posters and got going visiting every single premises with a mile of my location in north London. That's quite a few places. A couple of people who I had never met before helped.

After three days I got a phone call that a cat which might be mine had been seen on a landing in a block of flats. I dropped everything and got round there on the double. It was the sort of block that doesn't have working lifts while unfriendly looking people slouch around on the landings. Swallowing hard I worked by way up one floor after another. Eventually, on a landing, I found my cat who had managed to extricate himself from a new cat box but got no further. His eyes showed that he had been drugged. I scooped him up and beat it.

Since then I have been very interested in trackers for cats and dogs. Those for dogs are now small enough for practical use. Given the devastation that loss of an animal causes it is difficult to see why around £ 100 can be thought of as too expensive. Pedigree Labradors sell for several hundred pounds. Of course a thief would junk the tracker straight away but it does give instant feedback from when the animal first disappears. It is in those first 24 hours that the best chance of recovery exists and the tracker is still likely to be worn.

Pedigree cats sell for several hundred pounds too. Street cat ( we had a black Parisienne street cat ) or pedigree they are dearly loved. Trackers for cats are not such an easy option as for dogs. Cats tend to hate collars which can be a nice home for fleas etc. Cats get into all sorts of places and even with a break off collar there is the fear the cat might get stuck. I do not think it is fair to cats not to let them out. All the same I will consider a cat tracker in the future.My work makes a dog impossible much as I like them :-(

crossing fingers that Opal turns up soon

Link to local paper website:

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/news/local-news/canine-partners-chiefs-concerned-safety-699419

Facebook user groups could be an assett to use.

I hope she's found. xx

A benefactor has apparently now offered a substantial reward, I'm not sure of the exact terms i.e. whether for a safe return or just finding out what has happened to her.
Will try to find out.

Have Canine Partners asked for help from local radio and tv?

Someone must have taken her in. I hope they do the right thing and contact the police.

Lizx