Rescue dog Patsy, a two-year-old cocker spaniel and chihuahua cross, gave her new owners the slip and then dragged them almost a mile through countryside, woodland, and brambles to uncover the litter she gave birth to during six weeks on the run.
Great Escape
Patsy sneaked under a garden fence just 24 hours after being taken in by Christine and Leslie Reading on March 17. She charged towards a 12 square-mile private woodland on the other side of their Herefordshire valley. The couple spent weeks searching for the dog, putting up missing posters, making Facebook appeals, and delivering flyers in an eight-mile radius of their home in Yarsop, Herefordshire.
Patsy was eventually caught at a farmyard almost four miles from home. 'By then there had been sightings in five other villages or hamlets,' Mrs Reading said. 'But each time she was spooked she ran miles and I just couldn't get in front of her to set a humane trap.'
Discovery
After Patsy was caught, she spent her first night back howling continuously. Noticing she was lactating, the Readings took her to a vet who confirmed she had very recently given birth. Mrs Reading took Patsy back to the farm, expecting to find the puppies in an outbuilding. But Patsy, on a long lead, took off into the countryside.
Mr Reading, 74, told how he crawled on hands and knees through a bramble thicket to reach the seemingly cold and lifeless puppies. He put them down his jumper to warm them up and was able to revive three of the four tiny puppies. 'I thought they were dead because they weren't moving, but when I put them down my jumper I soon started to feel one of them wriggling,' he said.
Aftermath
The couple have decided to keep the mischievous puppy, the only black pup in the otherwise cream litter, and are considering calling him Tubs. Unfortunately, one of the puppies, the smallest and a female, did not survive. The other three, all male, are now thriving at home, with relatives lined up to take in the remaining two puppies.
Mrs Reading said: 'Patsy is very thin but has a beautiful shine to her coat. She's settled in again and is doing well. We have put more wire fencing in the garden so we don't get a repeat of her great escape!'
