NO moaning and groaning today, but a tale with a happy ending to make you go “Aaah!”

All last week I was riveted by the search for Jess, a lurcher that bolted from Sharon Cutler’s home in Riverdown Park a few days after being adopted.

Hiding out by day, Jess was dicing with death night after night, running frantically up and down our main roads.

Dozens of people followed regular bulletins on her progress. Many, like me, changed their usual dogwalking routes in the hope of finding her, stuffing their pockets with treats and a spare lead.

One chap spent an hour and half trying to catch her after she ran in front of his lorry in the early hours.

How do I know all this? Through a Facebook page that is performing an invaluable service.

I found ‘Missing Dogs Salisbury’ whilst looking into a recent spate of thefts.

Started by Farraday Crews, a children’s home manager, last year, it has almost 2,000 followers. Among them is Svend Rumbold, who plotted Jess’s movements on an online map to focus the search.

“We had really accurate information from people sharing sightings,” said Jenny Drury, who helps with site admin.

“When a dog is running like that you wonder how on earth anyone’s going to catch them. It’s all about communication.

“We kept in touch with Sharon all the way through. I can’t imagine how she must have been feeling.”

Salvation came Jess’s way on Sunday morning in the shape of Darren Elkins, one of several people dogwalking behind the leisure centre.

“His dogs started barking and when they pushed back the grass they found her in the bushes where she’d been asleep,” said Jenny. “She was shaking.”

Darren’s wife had seen the Facebook page, and while she phoned Sharon, he and others fed Jess treats but didn’t try to grab her for fear of scaring her off before her owner arrived.

“I’m so glad we found her,” Darren posted afterwards. “I’m not sure the poor love would have survived another day.”

Not surprisingly, Jess had sore paws and needed lots of rest, but she is doing well.

Sharon said: “I’d love to thank all the people involved. The Facebook page was so responsive. They took most of the stress from me by doing all the hard work.”

Jenny added: “Darren and his friends did exactly the right thing.

“The power of the internet was such a help. But the public who turned out to look for Jess are the unsung heroes.

“I find it quite amazing how communities can pull together and make something happen.”

So do I. And isn’t it great?

anneriddle36@gmail.com

  • PS. Another very useful website for owners of missing pets is doglost.co.uk