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A rescue team found Rose, the black Patterdale terrier, six-and-a-half years after she ran away from her family.
Rose, 12, survived all these years living in the woods, approximately six miles away from her home, where she ate food left out for badgers and was known as the local stray.
The news comes after the team at Lost Dog Recovery UK South received a call from a passerby who spotted her and they organised a stakeout of the area to uncover the truth.
Using live hidden cameras, the experts watched her behaviour and planned how best to get her to safety.
Lost Dog Recovery UK South recovers dog who went missing over 6 years ago
After a thorough investigation where they spoke to several locals in the area, they discovered that many neighbours had been feeding her.
Nicki Scriven, 41, has been working with the not-for-profit company for ten years and was involved in the rescue mission.
She said: “It came to light that someone had been feeding her for what they said was ten years and turned out to be six-and-a-half.
“She was their stray feral dog that they were feeding, and the main lady involved agreed that the dog needed to be caught. She felt very guilty for not doing anything before now.”
The team lured Rose into a metal cage in the Sussex woodlands with some chicken so that they could return her to safety.
Camped out in a nearby van, the team watched the nail-biting camera footage with pizza in hand.
Nicki added: “It can be heart-stopping, especially with her because we knew she had been feral for so long so we weren’t sure whether she would go into the trap straight away or whether it would take a couple of days.
“But it is rewarding for any dog whether it has been a day or six-and-a-half-years it is rewarding to get that dog safe.
“In my ten years working here we have had our fair share of dogs that haven’t made it home and it is heartbreaking and soul-destroying.”
After recovering the dog, the team discovered that she had a microchip from 2017 and that she was 12 years old.
Following a thorough search, they found Rose’s owners on Facebook and were able to share the exciting news that their missing dog was alive and well.
Sadly, due to a change in circumstance, Rose’s family won’t be able to take her back, so she will be going into rescue again.
Rose only had her family after 24 hours before running off and disappearing.
Since then the family have moved away and are no longer in a position to care for a senior dog.
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Nicki said: “It is upsetting but at the end of the day we need what is right for Rose and she will need rehabilitating and reassessing before she could go back to a home anyway.
“It is sad that she hasn’t got owners to go to but she is still going to be okay so it is okay.”
On a Facebook post, the company wrote: “After the initial shock, our absolute joy at finding a long-lost dog is tinged with sadness as there is no ‘happy reunion’ for Rose; she never got the chance to know the love of her family.”
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