Finding Cindy.

14th December 2020 we noticed a desperate post from the owners of a lost little dog Called Cindy.

Cindy had been an assisted rehome to her lovely new parents, Gayle and Craig. She had only been with them for two weeks. Her new parents could tell she was an anxious little girl and liked to be around them all the time.

They went out for 15 minutes to an urgent appointment. They knew their backyard was escape proof, as they had previously had a little dog a while ago. But Cindy found a way. She got out during the day and went looking for them. 

We feel she could have done one of two things,  followed the direction she had been walked in her two weeks with Gayle and Craig. Or went down the street and through the bush and was then seen three times that day..

Someone reported seeing her on their street, when they looked out the window. She was moving fast  and headed in the direction of the Lake.  A short time later, someone else reported seeing her along the lake road.

Last sightings were that she was near the nursing home and shops opposite. By now it was dark. Her parents raced to the last sighting and so did I and Bec from Paws A Moment. We all searched and looked, but no sign of her. 

(Facebook comment on that day from Paws A Moment & Rescue)

Just a shout out to Milly’s Search and Trap Group for all your help and support with trying to find Cindy, our little assisted rehome girl who has gone missing in the Berkeley Vale area today….

It means a lot to know that we have the support and guidance from a group who has experience with locating lost animals
Let’s hope we can secure this girl tomorrow and get her home to her owners, who are absolutely beside themselves with worry.

The Next Day: I was messaging with Cindy’s parents and they had been out for hours looking for her. I said I will assist and make up lots of posters and place them everywhere, including where she had been seen, and at schools, and along the Lake footpath and shops in the area.

There were no sightings. In fact there were no sightings at all for another 10 days.

During this time, Cindy’s parents searched in the nearby bushland, further away bushland, the nursing home and apartment area, every hour of every day. Everywhere they could think of to look. I too searched the same areas, under buildings, sheds, bushes, everywhere for hours over many days. Other Milly’s team members did as well.

We set up feeding stations near where she was last seen and cameras. The food wasn’t touched and no sign of her on the cameras. If we had vision of her on the cameras we would have set up our Missy trap.

Hours and hours of walking through thick sharp bush. So many places a little dog could hide. We advised to her parents that:-

Lyn advised via facebook:- she is probably tucked up in a quiet dry place resting. Lots of places to get out of the rain and no shortage of water. She will come out and be seen. I’m sure.
I’ve put posters at two schools. So kids and parents will see the posters. As well as some poles at shops near Chittaway and Lakedge Berkeley vale.  A few on the walking track.  
The more posters the more chance someone will see her.

Jo-anne advised via facebook :- We went driving and walking around no sightings tonight. We have found that little dogs stay under cover in the rain plus they hide extremely well. Our Group is with you until she is back in your loving arms.

Cindy’s parents were so dedicated to their little lost dog and were wonderful people to assist. They followed our advice and even when it was pouring rain they just kept searching, as we did also.

Many times they were so down and blamed themselves, and they thought they might never see her again. But we reassured them to never give up and that dogs are amazing and very resilient.

In the posters and on all facebook posts it was stressed to not chase or call Cindy, if anyone saw her.

Cindy’s parents kept updating posts everyday on facebook to keep it in the community’s minds that she was still out there missing.

The community, as always, were beautiful and so supportive and kept their eyes open for her too.

THEN: after 10 days of no sightings 24th December, 2020, Christmas Eve:

I had had one sip of coffee and my phone started to go nuts as well as facebook messenger.

People were grabbing posters of the poles at the lakeside pathway and ringing or texting me, and others walking their dogs were messaging on facebook and messenger that Cindy was there. We kept stressing, do not chase her. I threw my shoes on and grabbed some food and a lead. (forgot to put socks on and knowing it had rained, should have had gumboots).

There were so many wonderful people trying to help little Cindy, but she kept running back and forward. Stopping and hiding in grass to rest.

I got there and spoke with a man walking his dog. He said he saw her up further in the grass. As we walked and talked, I saw Cindy walking down the pathway towards me. I quickly asked the man to drop right back with his dog and I immediately  sat on the grass near the path. Not looking at Cindy, but playing with the food packet. She slowed down and started to walk towards me calmly. Then a lady appeared on the path, power walking and Cindy freaked out and took off again.

By now I met other ladies who had been trying to keep track of Cindy at the pathway. We worked together a few times, hoping to keep her calm and still. She would for a bit, then take off again. By now I had massive blisters on my ankles *forgotten socks” and who turns up, Mark and Jo. Yay. We quickly made plans for them to drive up the road,  further along the pathway and walk back down towards me.

I next get a message from Mark and Jo, saying she is in sight. That she was resting on the foreshore near the water. I quickened my pace, then came around the corner and Jo had Cindy safely in her arms.

Jo said she dropped to the ground and crawled through the muddy slush bit by bit by bit. Slowly. Eventually reaching Cindy and gently and calmly was put a slip lead on and was able to pick her up and hold her in her arms. 

I was very emotional and so happy and by now a crowd had gathered and they were clapping too. The local Community were so involved and caring about this little lost dog and her welfare. I can’t recall the names of the people from that day, although Sonja was one of them. Jo held her in the car while we all went to Sonja’s house to grab a pet crate.

During this time we had been on the phone to Cindy’s parents Gayle and Craig. They had had to make a dash to a relatives a few hours away, the afternoon before. They had received a phone call from their neighbour saying a little dog was barking, distressed and they looked into the backyard and it was Cindy. She had found her own way home and was calling for her parents at 4am in the morning.. The neighbour’s tried to help, but she got out and took off again. At that point Cindy’s parents had already started the long drive back home. 

So we took little Cindy to our vet’s for a checkover with permission from her lovely parents. She got a clean bill of health. Which is great as she had probably been in thick bush for 10 days. Luckily her parents also had kept her tick medication up to date. But even then, any pet who has been lost should be taken to the vet for a check up.

We then took Cindy to be reunited with her owners who just got home. For a little dog that had only lived with her new pawrents for two weeks, she knew. She was so tired and kept closing her eyes, until we turned into a street that she recognised by smell. She sat up, wide eyed. Then we turned into her street, she started to get excited, it was the cutest thing.

We carried her crate in and opened it. Oh my goodness, she was so so excited to see her lovely parents again. She cried and ran around and jumped all over them.

They and Cindy were overwhelmed with relief and happiness. It was beautiful, quite a few tears were shed, by us all . Cindy’s parents  are very dedicated and lovely owners. Cindy is a lucky girl.

Posters and Facebook posts delivered. Along with the caring community who sighted her.

Message on facebook From Gayle 24/12  UPDATE – Cindy has been found, today, and we have so many people to thank for their support and dedication in helping to find our beautiful girl, this lady Lyn has been the biggest support of all and her group, I also want to thank the community for everything so many of you did for us, looking out for her, sending messages of support and in the end to those who were there today helping to catch her.  We really do have a great community and thank you to everyone  – Merry Christmas to everyone.

Message from Jo on facebook:-  Words can not express how I am feeling right now. What a morning started with shopping at Erina then getting that msg from Lyn that our group had been waiting for, Cindy had been sighted. Dropped everything and raced to Berkeley to help, hope and pray. Well all that happened plus belly crawls through God knows what for Lyn and myself lol, treats and one very tired pup. All ended with our slip lead around her neck and held tight in my arms.

To this community who looked out for her for over a week Thank you as without you this Christmas miracle would not happen. To Lyn, thank you for all you did day and night, you were amazing, Cindy’s owners,  your girl is home for Christmas. Merry Christmas to you all what a beautiful day. 

As Jo pointed out. A Christmas miracle happened that day. 

Thank you Berkeley Vale Community.

Cindy’s Pawrent’s story and testimonial:- 
Our little lost Cindy
We had a beautiful little girl for 16 years who we named Mia, with great sadness, she passed away with dementia. She was the love of our life and we were so heart broken and we still miss her every day. We agreed we would never get another furbie as the pain of loosing Mia was unbearable and we agreed we would not be able to go through that pain and sadness again.

It was 5 years later that in 2020, we both felt the need to have another little furbie to give a loving home too and we could not resist the feeling. So, we agreed we were ready and spent weeks searching to find another beautiful furbie that we could give our love to and provide a forever home, filled with love and affection.

Along came Cindy, a rehomed rescue dog, she did come with some baggage from her previous home but the moment we saw her, we knew, with a bit of work, love and attention, we could give her a loving home and a happy life she so deserved.

We adopted Cindy and had her for approx. 2 weeks and she was slowly settling in. Then we had some business we had to attend too, we knew it would only take a short time and we would be back home. We had checked all our backyard, and we confident there were no areas she could escape through and that she would be safe, as this is the first time we had left her alone, so we gave her some treats and went to attend the business.

A short time later, we arrived back home with excitement to see her and thought how excited she would be to see us.

To our shock and despair, we couldn’t hear her, we couldn’t see her, we immediately went into panic mode, we searched every inch of our backyard, several times, every spot that she could be a hiding in, we called her name over and over, but it was clear she wasn’t any to found in our backyard.
Our hearts were shattered once again, the tears were flowing and the thought we possibly could have lost her set in.

Instantly we went into search mode, Craig went straight out searching our street and streets around, calling, searching, asking anyone he could, if they may have seen her, he had a picture on his mobile that we took only days before, so he could show everyone he spoke too.

While he was out searching, I jumped on social media, I knew from facebook posts over time that many pleas and requests of various forms were supported from those who read them, missing people, lost items, things people needed in various ways. So I thought I would also ask for help this way in the hope to get some sightings or positive news.

I posted on facebook in various local community pages, requesting help to find our little lost girl. Providing every detail that I thought would help those who read my posts in the hope it would be able to help bring her home and also included the recent picture. Within 10 mins approx., I already got a response telling us they saw a dog similar to her description and picture, run past her house and the direction she went.
I updated Craig, so he rushed towards this location, searched everywhere around and nearby, but no sign of her.

I was mindful that not everyone has social media of any kind or may not be on those groups or could even be away on holidays or similar as it was getting close to Christmas.

Every time hubby came home from searching, we were more desperate.

We did contact the rescue group we adopted Cindy from, and they also went searching around the area.
We were devastated, then along came Milly’s Search and Trap Group. We had never heard of this wonderful group of volunteers before this happened and we are so grateful they reached out to us.
Lyn from the group contacted us and told us she will assist in helping finding Cindy and told us about the group and how they can help.

During a time Craig was searching the streets nearby, he had a call from a very nice lady saying they believe they saw Cindy running around near the local nursing home, so off he went again in that location searching everywhere, went into the nursing home and they were happy to keep a look out for her.

Lyn, met up with Craig and searched in the bushland area around the nursing home and streets and helped with the search, her expertise was a great comfort to us at this time. Lyn assisted with making up lots of posters and placed them everywhere, including where Cindy had been seen, and at schools, and along the Lake footpath and shops in the area. There were sadly no more reported sightings for another 10
days.

Every accessible spot was searched by Lyn and Craig, sheds, bushland, thick scrub, playgrounds, buildings and no sign, Lyn placed food stations, cameras, everything possible was being done.

We came to a point that we thought we would never see Cindy again, our hearts ached, we were in despair. Craig kept searching and I updated the facebook posts every day, we really believed by this time, either she was hurt somewhere and didn’t survive, or someone had taken her in for their own.

I made sure I dated my posts every time that I updated it, to keep flooding social media to ensure Cindy would be foremost in peoples minds in the hope they would see her, hear something, and tell others about her and our search.

It was very hard to keep going, but with Lyn’s and the groups positive support and promise to us that they would not give up on her, it kept us going.

We also received so many positive responses from members of the community on the facebook posts. So many filled with sincere care, meaningful suggestions, and comments that they would keep looking out for her and so many sharing my posts around for others to see. This was overwhelming to know what a wonderful community we live in and that with everything going on around, we do have some wonderful people that would do things to help others.

23rd December 2020. We had to make an urgent dash on compassionate grounds 4 hours away, knowing that our precious little girl was missing, and it was a hard decision to dash away, but we knew we had the support and care from Lyn and her group and the community on watch, and that we would keep reading any posts or messages whilst we were away.

24th December, 2020, Christmas Eve: The day so clear in our memory
Very early in the morning we had a call thru our mobile, from a neighbour who saw our contact number thru facebook posts. They heard Cindy in our backyard barking, and they peered over the fence and could see her. To this day we cannot figure out, how she got out nor how she would get back in. They were going to keep monitoring her and would send any updates.

In the car we got and made the 4 hour stressful dash back home.

All the way home, our mobiles were going off, facebook posts continually being received, saying she has been seen down the lake edge area. One very nice guy called our mobiles, who saw her and got our phone number off the poster he saw.

Lyn kept us posted all the way home, which was reassuring as it was a long anxious drive home.
We got a message, Lyn had spotted her, but sadly she ran off again and they were still following her.

• Then the message came that Jo from Milly’s was near her and did everything possible to capture her.
• Jo went well over and went beyond expectations to rescue Cindy for us.
• Crawling on the ground and finally grabbing her.

There were so many people trying to help this day in many ways and some we have never been able to personally thank as we do not know who they are.

When we got this update, we were overwhelmed with emotions and tears were flowing, we were still some distance away, and our hearts were pumping.

Cindy was taken to the Vet by Lyn and Kelly, for a check up and she got the all clear.

We got home and to our excitement, Lyn and Kelly brought her to us, delivered her to our home.
Kelly opened the crate and Cindy pounced out, straight into Craig’s arms, it’s hard to say who was crying the most, Cindy, us or Lyn and Kelly, I think it was all.

She needed a bath, which is understandable, 10+ days lost, and, in the bush, she was tired, but she ran around, excited, jumping, crying with excitement.

After she calmed down and had a bath and some food, we were back in the car with her safely secured on the backseat and made the 4 hour journey back again and this time we spent Christmas there with Cindy and it was the best Christmas present, having her with us again.

We can’t thank the community enough, for the support, messages, searching and updates that we were given through social media. I’m so proud of our community that we live in.
• Most of all, we thank Lyn, Jo and Milly’s group, for everything they did for us. You are the most wonderful group of volunteers that are dedicated, caring, hard working, and have a love for all animals, no matter how big or small or type.

Lyn’s support goes without saying, the most caring person who stuck by us all the way through.
Jo was very reassuring and told us not to give up, as Milly’s won’t.

Would we have found Cindy without Lyn, Jo and Milly’s? we will never know, but we believe that without their support, we may have never found her.

We will be forever grateful to this wonderful group who have helped many lost animals and family’s and I know they will never stop doing what they love and are dedicated too.
Gayle & Craig