A social media twist in lost dog’s tale

A missing dog was reunited with its owners almost 320km away thanks to live sighting updates on social media and the speaker on a mobile phone.

Michael Collins, who lives in Clare Hall in Dublin, said it was great to see how positive social media can be after strangers posting on Facebook and Twitter helped volunteers zero in on his family’s lost 18-month-old beagle, Buddy, who was huddled in a field near Cork city. “We were absolutely stunned and amazed that so many people took the time, and put in the effort to find Buddy,” Michael said.

“Words cannot express how grateful we are for the unbelievable support and assistance we received from the people of Cork.”

Michael and his family were visiting his parents in Bishopstown, on the western outskirts of Cork City last week, when Buddy jumped out of the family car as they stopped for petrol near the Bandon Rd roundabout last Thursday.

Michael’s wife Siobhan and their son Darragh, 11, watched in horror as Buddy was struck by two cars on the South Ring Rd, before he ran off along the motorway towards Ballincollig.

The family spent three hours looking for him without success.

The heartbroken family returned to Dublin and set up a Facebook page appealing for people to keep an eye out for their pet. The page attracted up to 13,000 hits and soon Buddy’s plight was all over Twitter.

Touched by the tale, dog-loving Corkonians pasted “lost Buddy beagle” posters across the city.

The Collins’ were about to give up all hope of finding him when an update came through on the Facebook page around 2pm on Friday that a dog matching Buddy’s description had been spotted in the western suburbs.

Michael jumped into his car and Siobhan monitored social media and texted live updates of the sightings.

Meanwhile, in Cork, Nanci Creedon, who runs Creedon’s Doggie Daycare, was also monitoring the Buddy updates.

She and her friend, Avril Hurley, eventually tracked the scared hound down to a field in a housing estate near Wilton shopping centre.

Despite bringing doggie treats, and using her best Dublin accent, Nanci couldn’t entice him over.

Nanci dialled the mobile number on the missing dog poster and got through to Siobhan. She then put Siobhan on speaker who in turn called out to Buddy. As soon as he heard her voice, he approached Nanci, who grabbed him and put him in her car.

Within minutes, Michael arrived on the scene for an emotional reunion.

Buddy is now to make a guest appearance at Creedon’s Doggie Daycare’s Santa Paws open day fundraising event at their premises in Cork on Nov 25.