Missing dog rescued after six hours on the run in Kettering

Emily the Bichon Frise was spotted all over Kettering on Monday
Emily the Bichon Frise was spotted all over Kettering in her six-hour ordealEmily the Bichon Frise was spotted all over Kettering in her six-hour ordeal
Emily the Bichon Frise was spotted all over Kettering in her six-hour ordeal

A missing dog was reunited with her owner after running around Kettering for six hours.

Emily, a Bichon Frise, went missing in Sainsbury's car park at about 1pm on Monday (July 27).

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She was spotted at Kettering swimming pool, Horse Market, Market Place, St Mary's Road, Northfield Avenue and Grafton Park throughout the day before she was finally caught Grafton at around 6.30pm.

Viv Wright, Emily's owner, said she was beside herself when she realised her dog had bolted.

Viv said: "It was about 1.00pm and I had taken them for a walk, I have two Bichons, Ben and Emily.

"I thought, I will pop into Sainsbury's for some bits. I parked up and got out to pay for the ticket."

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Viv said the two dogs were in harnesses and are normally clipped into the back seat, but this one time they weren't and Emily must have been able to jump out.

She said: "Next thing I get is a tannoy call in Sainsbury's saying will the owner of this car registration please come to customer services. They said please go to your car, there is a dog running around."

By the time Viv got outside, she said: "She'd gone, she'd just run off. She's partially sighted and she's small for a Bichon. She'd panicked and bolted."

A runner spotted the dog in traffic and followed the dog all the way through town towards Kettering swimming pool. A PCSO also spotted Emily and followed her to Horse Market.

Viv said: "This dog went all the way through Kettering.

"I thought she's going to get squished."

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Several people who saw Emily joined in the search. Bethan Claydon and her mum Cheryll Simmons joined in after spotting the Bichon Frise in the road.

Bethan said: "We were driving back from Asda and we happened to see it on the road.

"I happened to have ham in the car and me and my mum had the idea to rip it up and chuck it out to lure the dog.

"We ended up following it all day. I put it on Facebook with my number to say if anyone saw her, they can call and let us know.

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"She was spotted literally all over Kettering." One person said they'd seen Emily as far as St Mary's Road.

Another helper, Will Eddy, said he drove down to St Mary's Road when someone said Emily had been spotted that way.

He said: "By the time we got there, it had been spotted by Morrisons and the post office. The dog was absolutely rapid."

Time was ticking by and the next few sightings of Emily were all in the Grafton Park area.

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Viv said: "Stuart, my son, and his partner Tory, came from Beaconsfield to help look and the information was the dog was in the Grafton Street area."

They headed to the park, as did Bethan and Wills. Bethan had been called to say Emily had been spotted in Grafton Park and thought they would have a chance at catching her

When Stuart and Tory got to the park, a lady who had been searching for Emily said she had seen the dog and approached her, but the terrified dog had bitten her when she'd reached for the harness.

Viv said she was upset to hear Emily had bitten someone and wanted to reassure that the dog is up-to-date with all vaccinations, worming and everything. She said if anyone knows who the lady is, she would like to apologise.

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With all signs indicating Emily was in the area, the group started calling and looking for her. Will then noticed her white face in some brambles by the brook that runs along Grafton Park and Northfield Avenue.

He said: "I started to approach it and it wasn't moving and it seemed quite disorientated.

"I got literally 30cm away and then she saw me and started getting agitated and started to bolt it further along the brook.

"I was really close to her and she was running towards Grafton Park towards my mate Olly, but then she ran back to me and at that point I called Bethan and told them to block off the gate."

Stuart and Tory then managed to catch Emily.

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Bethan said: "She was absolutely petrified. I'm so glad we found her."

Emily is now back at home and recovering. Viv said it is only today (Wednesday) that the dog seems to be returning more to her usual self.

Apart from some slightly sore paws from all the running, Viv said Emily is uninjured.

She said: "It's astonishing that she wasn't hit. She must have crossed roads."

Viv said she wants to thank all those that helped and said: "Bethan was absolutely fantastic, and her mum. I want to thank Bethan, her mum and Wills."

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