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.

Brian W.
There is a new programme on missing dogs on Channel 4 .
Have a look at their website to see if you can get help from them.

My Son has a face book account I have sent the link to him re missing Opal .he has friends up & down the country Plymouth ,.Glasgow. Burton .Manchester ..it might help he will send details through face book .she could be anywhere Barbara

I am no dog expert but do have a fair bit of experience in recovering stuff that has gone awol - data, documents, people, key items of equipment., vehicles You would be amazed at what people lose track of and where it ends up..

Some things I have learned are not very surprising but difficut for many to accept,

1. You have to start with what information you have got not that which you wished you had. A lot of this information is very often ignored for one reason and another.

In the case of Opal try and reconstruct her movements over the week before she disappeared as much as you can. The same for anybody who came into contact with Opal esp inc the puppy parents and walkers. Surprisingly often bona fide people have had contact with the thieves even though they were unaware of it. That is why the police trawl anything and everybody not nailed down when they have difficult cases. It is the chain of contact you need to follow.

Dogs such as this are rarely stolen on the off chance. Far more likely she was being watched and chance taken, maybe even made. Get copies of any video still avail and go through it minutely - you will be looking for out of place vans, people even a dog. Follow up any such leads,

2. Consider the motivation. It will nearly always be money so that offers of reward should give some traction. If it does not then consider: do people who have info have another better proposition or are they plain scared? It is possible that Opal has been grabbed by the Irish dog breeding racket. Any reward offer should give some indication of the amount "substantial" means different things to different people. Conditions matter - "info leading to" has a better chance than "recovery of" on its own. Is the reward offer getting to the right people who by definition are going to be some kind of low life / violent people or controled by such. Make sure there is an anonymous contact point available. Support all major languages used in the Midlands - your target may have poor or no English.

3. An important vector in recovering animals is people who deal with them - vets, shelter keepers, police, customs and so on. They are very busy but can also be very helpful if asked in the right way and given key data. The people with the chip record will be aware if the chip data has been accessed from which the location within a bit can be worked out using ip.

4. This kind of search has around a 50% success rate. It requires a lot of hard and persistent work. Costs can mount very quickly. If the object of interest has insurance against theft the ins companies will always make a contribuition.

4. You may have to take some risks.

5. Consider carefully how you would avoid a repeat experience. Once dumb twice shy.

6. With people it is possible to make matches based on pretty poor images on disk using such techniques as facial recognition. I have no idea if this sort of thing has been tried with valuable animals. Quite possibly.

Here is a url to start you off anyway.
https://goo.gl/2RsBpG

good luck, I wouldn't give up.

Thank you for the advice Rollo.
One thing I have done, following your previous comment about the possibility of a chip being deactivated is to suggest to Canine Partners that they mark puppies in a recognizable way with an indelible marker pen so that if one is lost and a "possible" turns up and ownership is in doubt or it is in the hands of a rescue centre, police etc. then there is an identifying mark to start on.

I also contacted the RCVS to inquire if they had a policy for their members to do any checks on identity if an older pup is registered with a vet but have not had the courtesy of a reply.

Today the Queen visited Canine Partners HQ in Sussex so staff have been tied up with that for a couple of days. Hopefully she left a donation suitable for her status. Prince Harry has had previous contact through his work with disabled service personnel.

Just a little Message hope whoever has Opal they realise the hurt they have caused .maybe one day she will be found <3

Just received fantastic news from Canine Partners:

"Good morning/afternoon,
As many of you will know, one of our puppies in training, named Opal, went missing at the end of October last year.
We are delighted to say that last night she was found safe and well and is now back in our care.

There is an ongoing investigation in place and if and when we are able to, we will share any relevant information with you all.

Thank you
Charlotte "

Very good news Brian :-D

That's wonderful news Brian

Sounds as if she was deliberately targeted or maybe just someone who thought finders keepers

Found safe and well is the best news

Really good news Brian.

So great to hear that she is safe and well.

I am really, really pleased for you and Opal.
I said not to give up!

bet you are on cloud 9 right now.

:-D

Excellent, so glad she’s been found.
Even if it’s too late to train her up, she’s bound to become a wonderful household pet.

Brilliant News, Brian! <3

Keep us informed :-D

Really brilliant news about Opal.

So glad she is back with Canine Partners and maybe still could be trained.

WOO HOO Celebrations.

Good Oh!! still hope for her then, unlike racing pigeons that get lost and found...often its the knackers yard for them!

Brilliant news Brian

Great news she has been found .never give up eh xx :-)

That is really wonderful news Brian!! I have been watching this thread and hoping so much that she would be found. :-D :-D :-D It just shows you should never give up hope. I expect she will still remember much of her training.

Brilliant news!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D

I too have been following this thread. What fantastic news. She is safe and well :-D :-D I hope that whoever took her will be dealt with severely