Fry

Finding Fry
AndyWhitlock
June 2, 2013

I lost my dog, Fry, for 23 hours. This is an account of what happened, which I’m writing for three reasons:

• Literally hundreds of people have shown support and concern for Fry’s well-being, so it feels appropriate to share the happy outcome with them (you)
• I have valuable advice to offer dog-owners who find themselves in this position, or want to reduce the chances of it happening
• I’m still swimming with emotions and I’m hoping this will help me to process it all and get back to normal

Let’s start at the end: The image below is Fry with a drip in his arm. A bit sad, but really this encapsulates a euphoric end to the drama: he’s safe and on the mend. :)

How did we lose him?

I was walking him in Clissold Park, North London. A larger dog frightened him - perhaps scratched him - and he bolted. Despite being nowhere near the entrance to the park, he quickly made his way there, apparently scared of even me as I approached with treats to get him back.

What began as calm, reassuring calls from me turned into desparate cries as Fry accelerated out of the gate and towards the busy road. I chased him for about a mile, shouting for someone to stop him and keeping on his trail thanks to the words and pointing of passers-by. After a few blocks, I came to a small traffic jam. I paused only for a few seconds; long enough to see a driver’s apologetic gestures and receive chilling sympathy from a stranger. Fortunately, going under this car hadn’t stopped him. I followed more shouts and ran after him for another ten minutes.

Then the trail ended. No more strangers could point me towards him. I did my own inevitable tail-chasing, running around the area, but failing to see him anywhere.

I won’t tell the full story in this level of detail. You get the idea. After many hours searching, doing the things, and making the calls, you’d expect, I returned home with my wife, who had joined me in the search. Our best bet was that someone would find him, alive or not and call us (our number was on his collar).

The call came, but it was a 23-hour wait. Again, you can imagine the things we did and imagined during this time. But before I share how things ended, I should tell you about the incredible support I received on Twitter:

Tweeting was a desperate act. And although it didn’t lead to Fry being found, it was a humbling experience. Now, this is a nice, feel-good, family-friendly type of blog post, but if you’ll excuse me for a minute: FUCKING HELL! 790 Retweets. I was not expecting that. And the constant - and I mean constant - flurry of support was incredible.In absence of solid results, this activity gave me a sense of perpetual progress. Something was always ‘being done’. There were no moments, where we were just sitting, waiting. A special thanks to @doglostuk, who were amazing. This post is largely for the people that showed support and whom continue to share messages about Fry’s well-being.

How did we find him?

After almost 24 hours we received a call from a man who had opened his front door and seen Fry lying on his lawn. It was in a small cul-de-sac, hidden from the main road, a few blocks from where I had lost the trail. Our phone number was on his collar and fortunately (if I can use that word), Fry’s injuries prevented him from running away, so the man could approach.

He was pretty scratched up and one of his paws was really mangled. I won’t describe it in any more detail (it looked horrific). The important part is that he is now in hospital and on the mend. It’s an ending that, if I was religious, I would have prayed for. It seemed impossible at the time and the length of this post is partly down to the euphoria that seems to be powering my fingers.

Lessons to pass on

Here’s what I learned from this. I hope some of it is useful to other dog owners:

1. If in doubt, keep them on the lead
Fry is 8 months old now and had been fine off the lead for months. But in recent weeks he’d become a bit more independent, staying away from us for longer and not coming when called. We had decided to keep him on the lead for a while. I stupidly tried him off the lead again, thinking that in a cleaner park than usual (Clissold) he would be less distracted by scavenging than usual. That was true, but it wasn’t enough. This was a mistake I regret deeply. He needed some more training before we let him off again. If you ever feel like this, keep your dog on the lead.

2. If in doubt, keep them away from bigger dogs
It was another dog that scared Fry out of the park. I instinctively thought it was the kind of dog I’d rather Fry stayed away from, but I didn’t want to offend its owner. Again, a moment of weakness that nearly led to a horrible end. You have to look after your dog first, which might occasionally lead to having to offend strangers. A small price to pay.

3. Stay calm, even when you’re terrified
Although I began calmly, I started yelling when Fry was heading towards traffic. This yelling scared him even more. I don’t know if it’s possible to stay calm when you think your dog might go under a car, but you have to try to keep the panic within. Fake it. Pretend to be calm for your dog’s sake. I can’t say it would have brought him back, but I wish I had managed to hold it together.

4. Search more thoroughly in a smaller area
Fry didn’t go far from where I lost him. And from reading online, it sounds like dogs tend to go in triangles, staying within a smaller perimeter, once they’re looking for somewhere safe. If I could go back and do it again, I would search systematically, street by street, bush by bush rather than travel further out to cover more ground. This is especially relevant if your dog is injured and unlikely to keep on the move.

5. Make sure your phone number is on the collar
Fortunately we did this. It could have taken another 24 hours to get him back if we had to wait for him to be taken to a vet. He is microchipped.

6. If he’s badly injured, don’t feed him!
When we found Fry he hadn't eaten for 24 hours. Our instinct was to feed him, which we did - and which he accepted enthusiastically ;) But if your dog needs medical treatment that requires anaesthetic, then food will delay the operation. We had to wait 8 hours before he could be operated on because of this. Although he got to snooze on me for a while in the meantime, which I think he enjoyed:

7. Get good Pet insurance
Ours is pretty decent. M&S. But his treatment is costing around £1500 (still waiting for the final bill). We will probably have to pay £500 of that.

Update: I’m also going to keep a keen eye on GPS solutions like this.
Happy ending
I can’t post a picture of Fry in his bandages because he’s still at the hospital. But here he is at a happier time. Not sure he’ll be doing much yoga for a while though.

Update: I can now...

THANK YOU to everyone that showed support. It meant a lot. The Internet really does love dogs. :)

READ my lessons if you’re a dog owner and have any concerns about this kind of thing.

SORRY to anyone that thinks I’m being a bit over the top with this. I had no idea I could love an animal this much. Thank God he’s okay.

And now I’ve said it all, maybe I can get back to normal life a little. Welcome home, Fry.

http://checkthis.com/findingfry