A TIMID Chihuahua which escaped its Mount Gambier backyard and disappeared from the neighbourhood has been found four days later in Naracoorte, over 100km from home.
It was a fairy tale reunion for the Beare family and their 12-year-old beloved pooch Jill, which was found roaming around a Naracoorte school on Wednesday night.
The mysterious circumstances surrounding Jill’s big adventure started on Saturday when Chris Beare noticed the dog had vanished from his family’s property without a trace.
It was only after Chris discovered a loose fence panel in the rear yard a search of the neighbourhood was launched.
Katie Beare, who was in Adelaide at the time, said the family’s two other dogs, Jacko, 12 and Lucy, 3, had been inside for a few hours and Chris went to check on Jill but could not find her.
“She rarely comes inside and usually stays out on her bed, but this time she was not there,” Katie said.
“Chris went looking around the backyard and noticed there was a part of fence which we had barricaded down the side of the shed missing.
“There was a gap, so she must have just walked straight out the front and I do not know why, because she just is not that sort of dog.”
Katie said Chris went looking around the neighbourhood most of the weekend, but had no luck finding their beloved pet.
On Monday, Katie said they had a lead when a women who had been doorknocking nearby informed them of a dog at their home which was similar in appearance to Jill.
“I just thought I needed to stress less because I just knew she was being cared for and wherever she was, I knew she would have been getting looked after,” Katie said.
“I knew we would find her.
“We ended up finding out the dog was black and white so it was definitely not Jill.”
After ringing the veterinary clinics in Mount Gambier and the surrounding council areas, Katie said the family became anxious they may never see their timid Chihuahua again.
“No-one had seen her so we just thought the best thing to do was keep our eye out and post on social media,” she said.
“We only posted on the usual Mount Gambier groups because I did not think she would have been able to go far as she is tiny.”
Shortly after posting on Facebook, Ms Beare said a Kingston friend messaged her about a small dog which had been located in Naracoorte.
“She sent me a message saying there was a dog which looked like Jill, but it was in Naracoorte, so I just did not think much of it,” she said.
“I just disregarded it and did not really read it for around 10 minutes because I was busy and when I opened it, I was just shocked.
“I looked at the photograph and there was no way I could doubt it was Jill.”
After finishing a long shift at work, Katie was joined by Chris, their son Charlie, 8, daughter Grace, 6 and their two other dogs, driving to Naracoorte at around 7.30pm Wednesday to find the roaming dog.
“We were prepared we were not going to find her. We got there anyway and started driving around the school with our spotlight,” she said.
“The police rocked up as they had seen us with this big spotlight going through the school and probably thought it was a bit dodgy.
“We then heard this little yap and by that time I thought I was going mad, but it was her and she came to us. I think the smell of Jacko drew her out.”
With so many questions unanswered as to how Jill’s big journey played out, Katie believes the pet may have been picked up by a vehicle and was driven to Naracoorte.
“We live across the road from an industrial area, my mum has this theory that maybe she has somehow got on a truck and then they had got to Naracoorte and they realised and left her there,” she said.
“Someone has to have picked her up, there is no way she could have made it there on her own.
Now reunited in Mount Gambier, Katie said the household was overwhelmingly happy to have found Jill, with the dog settling back into life at home with the family.
