Anyone in Derbyshire? scared, stray dog - Inra - can you look out?

foreign_correspondent

SEE UPDATE - POST #7 FOR MOST RECENT INFO - THANKS

Hello,

I guess this will probably be moved, but I wondered if any MSE-rs living in this area could help with any info- this poor dog has been missing in the area for a long time now, and as he has been mistreated in the past runs away from people. He was last seen in Crich.

http://www.belpernews.co.uk/wild/Urgent-appeal-to-find-starving.4576731.jp

The RSPCA have said they will put traps down if they can find out where he is living. He is an old dog and I do feel for him as the weather gets colder.

foreign_correspondent

I read this today...

"There have been distressing developments. Inra was, it seems, seen on Saturday afternoon in Oak Hurst woods, on the west side of the Derwent from Ambergate (ie south of Shining Cliff Woods). Two ladies were walking four rowdy dogs whose presence drew Inra out - but a huge Chocolate Lab greeted him by jumping on top of him and by the time all four dogs had ben brought under control Inra had vanished. He was described as being pathetically emaciated, barely able to walk with his hind legs, like a very ancient and arthritic dog - still wearing a red collar and obviously in the last stages of decrepitude. The two women realised it was Inra, having read about him in the Belper News; they searched for him for the next two-and-a-half hours till darkness, then came back the next day and searched again but to no avail.

Exasperatingly they phoned the council out-of-hours service, who took a message but didn't tell them it wouldn't be passed to the Dog Wardens till Monday (so I was only informed on Monday afternoon, too late even to get up there before dark). They also phoned the police, who misplaced the piece of paper they noted the call down on, only rediscovering it on Wednesday morning (for God's sake.....) when they eventually phoned me.

Myself and another volunteer searched Oak Hurst on Tuesday morning (and the old wireworks by the river). We went back on Wednesday, set up a barbecue to fill the woods with food smells and played a tape of barking dogs which I'd recorded at the RSPCA centre early that morning. But no sign of Inra. The woods are huge, steep, rocky, slippery with mud....there's no food there for him, so no reason for him to stick around...He must have crossed the bridge at Whatstandwell to get into them and come down through Shining Cliff Woods, but where he is now is anybody's guess. Saturday night was murderously cold, with ice on the ground by Sunday morning. It sleeted on Sunday morining too.

We've leafleted the whole of Ambergate, but there's a very strong feeling of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. We may try the barbecue and tape again....I phoned his brother's owners in Buxton, to see if they could bring him down to the wood in the hope of his picking up a scent, but they aren't available till the weekend at the earliest (and it looks like raining then anyway).

It's really looking very grim. The dog is evidently on his last legs. He may even be dead. Surrounding farms have been fed his details, but I really do fear we may hear nothing more of him now. I hope to be proved wrong, though. People will be looking for him in the woods again today."

tankgirl1

poor pooch - how heartbreaking

foreign_correspondent

He in now in woods near Crich -

Yesterday I went to where he was spotted last week and dropped handfulls of food randomly. I found a dead and rotting badger under a pile of leaves and thought it maight be the dog at first.

He has been sighted again today, very near where I had been putting food. I really hope he has eaten.

People are trying to take food down, and are walking their dogs there as often as possible, as he has come out to greet people's dogs before - he walked a while with a lady's dog a week or so ago, then she shoo-ed him away! poor lad is scared to death of people but loves other dogs. He has been very sadly and cruelly mistreated in the past.

If the RSPCA can narrow down the area they will put traps out. If anyone walks in the area and would like more info, or would like to help, please PM me. It really is getting desperate now its so cold.

Loopy_Girl

Good god FC...I read that thread with tears down my face (I have PMT granted but still, bless him)

I really really hope you/someone else finds him soon

Big hugs xxx

foreign_correspondent

yes, I know, its so sad. When i found the dead badger I almost hoped it was him, cos at least his suffering would be over. I am off up there again tomorrow afternoon to put food out again. He was spotted yesterday very near where I put food out the day before - lets hope he is getting some of it.

If anyone does see him, please dont try to catch him, as he will run off scared, and could well move area again if he feels under threat. please do ring the numbers on the poster above and report it though, the more sightings we can get the more likely we are to be able to get someone in who can catch him.

We are trying to keep him in the area he has most recently ben spotted so there is a chance of trapping him.

foreign_correspondent

Update - Inra is still missing - Latest reliable info here.

Volunteers are now struggling, we have no recent sightings so the trail has gone cold - and local radio do not want to cover the story again however, we really need some sightings so we know where to look...

Inra is a black, medium sized dog (Labrador x Collie) with a greying muzzle, however, his most distinguishing feature are his distinctive ears, one sticking up and one that flops over.

He has been missing since March of last year (2008). Although he has survived so far, those searching for him fear the ongoing cold weather will make it increasingy difficult for him.

Inra is difficult to capture because he was so cruelly and consistently mis-treated by his original owners - so he fears all humans want to hurt him and he will run away if approached. However, there are ways he could be captured if we have a clear idea of where he is. If we can establish his location, and if he stays in the same place for a little while a humane dog trap could be set.

There have previously been reports of sightings areound Shipley County Park, Smalley, Ockbrook, Risley, Stanton-by-Dale, Coxbench, Holbrook and Belper. Recently (Dec 08) it appeared he was living in Shining Cliff Woods at Ambergate where there are an abundance of outbuildings, one of which was being monitored by the volunteer team as it appeared a dog was indeed using it to sleep in. However, it seems he has now become scared off so the search has been set back.

There have been no confirmed sightings of Inra for over three weeks now. It is possible he has headed out of the immediate area, so please, if you have seen a dog matching Inra's description anywhere in Debyshire please do let us know.

A bevy of volunteers are involved in the search for Inra, but to catch him they need the help of local residents. What we most need is to establish where he is living so that we can focus the search effectively.

How to search:

Please do not search too invasively – Do not go into sheds, outbuildings etc. If h has a safe place to sleep that may save his life the last thing we want to do is scare him away from using it. He is so scared of humans that we need to be aware that human scents may make a sleeping place less attractive for him. Also, these places may not be safe to poke around in and may well be someone's property!

Although Inra is very scared of people he loves other dogs and lived with his brother for several years – when he has been sighted this has often been because he has come out to see other dogs who are being walked in the woods, so all dog walkers please do look out.

If you do spot Inra (or have seen him) -

Please do not approach him and certainly do not try and catch him. We need him to stay in one area for a while if we are to catch him and the worst thing that could happen is if he gets scared from a relatively safe, sheltered area to a more hazardous one. If he is approached he will run, as he will believe you intend to harm him, not help him.

Please stay where you are quietly and see which direction he is heading. Do not try and follow him, but do note the location of the sighting and report it ASAP to Sue or Danny even if he has since moved on. This is probably the single most important thing you can do in helping to find Inra. Do not make any noises or call him, he does not know his name so all this will do is scare him.

Volunteers from the Dog Pages website (www.dogpages.org.uk) are liasing with RSPCA volunteers from the Derby shelter that Inra was rehomed from. Please do feel free to sign up to dogpages if you want to keep updated.

To Report Sightings of Inra Please Ring:

Danny on 07758 709 337
or Lesley on 07920 528 554
or Sue on 07980 130 348

foreign_correspondent

if anyone can crosspost this info to any other forums etc please do feel free - we need all the help we can get!

gone4gold62

hi i really hope you find this poor dog ,& soon . thank goodness he has people like you on his side good luck ,

kiraroo

i can't help with the searching but i noticed you said local radio aren't interested in helping again, i work in public relations and just wanted to give you a few more ways of reaching the public which might help.

- try all radio stations, not just the bbc, there's likely to be a commercial radio station of two in the area
- parish magazines are always looking for local stories, try you local council who might have a list of the parish magazines or at least of all the parishes in the area, then just put together a piece of text and a photograph and send to them
- lots of schools have newsletters these days, similarly with contacting the council, see if you can get a list of schools and send them some words and a photograph
- i'm guessing you've tried your local paper already? always worth giving them a call and if they're reluctant ask if they'll hold onto the story until they are short on news and need to fill space, i know it sounds bad, just filling space but it's better than nothing.

hope these help

UKTigerlily

I really hope this poor lad is found safe soon i've been reading his story