Written by Linda Bowman
Professional photography by Shendl Rewitzky of Bark & Beyond
In November 2021, I adopted a Jack Russell-cross puppy from Vaalpets. I’d seen his brother on Facebook; there was a litter of puppies up for adoption. All the puppies were adopted except for little Hershey, so we adopted him. Needless to say, this little tiny poppet who came all the way from Vereeniging crept into my heart and has since become my shadow. Dealing with Vaalpets was an absolute pleasure, and I always get their Facebook posts of dogs up for adoption. And that’s how I found Tucker.
A long journey
I saw his smile on the Vaalpets Facebook page, and read that this tan-coloured Africanis-cross dog had never had a home; he’d been in a shelter for eight long years. I decided to adopt him, but he was so far away. I’m in East London, while Vaalpets is located in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
Vaalpets went out of their way to find a lift for dear Tucker. They have an agreement with an air freight company who flies their canine senior citizens for free (with just a R550 handling fee) but unfortunately they only fly to Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth) or George – several hours’ drive from Port Alfred.
To cut a long story short, through donations, Vaalpets managed to get a lift for Tucker to Port Alfred, 140km from East London, where I collected him at 05h00 on Monday morning, the 19th of June. It was pouring with rain and Tucker and I finally arrived in East London. I was exhausted as I’d left home at 02h00 in the morning and am night blind, and it was a bit of a drive!
Tucker and I got home and I gave him breakfast, water, etc. He met the other dogs and everyone seemed fine with each other. Tucker, Hershey and I walked the garden to double-check fences, etc. while Roxy stayed in her house (she decided she was too old for the excitement). All looked good and I thought Tucker just needed time to stretch and relax, so I left him by himself.
Community caring
The neighbour’s electric fence was making a snapping noise, a wire was touching a branch, and I’m not sure if that’s what reminded Tucker of the fire he’d been in years before. But when I came outside to check on him, he was nowhere to be found.
I searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. Panicking, I messaged Vaalpets to say that this had happened and, from there, the ball got rolling and the search began. Everyone jumped in and everything was out of my hands. People were amazing and they all worked together to help me find Tucker!
The East London community – Sterling, Nahoon, Gonubie, Beacon Bay and Cambridge – people from all over, teenagers, grannies, grandpas, you name it, arrived and searched. A Tucker WhatsApp group was started. Everyone just arrived at my house and walked through the property into the bush and helped search. Red Alert also helped search, along with other security companies that kept a lookout for him whilst out patrolling. People from all over the country as well as the UK donated money, and Vaalpets was able to arrange for Dianne Logie of Healthy Hound Pet Search & Rescue to come to East London to help with the search. Sunrise on Sea provided accommodation for Dianne and Little Blooms Catering provided food for her. Literally everyone just jumped in to help and people drove around at night looking for Tucker.
A Selborne teacher, Chantal Schenk, and her daughter, Lacey, from Stirling Primary School were a crucial part of the team searching for Tucker. They were there from day one, crawling through the bush. I was so impressed by Lacey. She was there at six o’clock every morning until late at night with never a complaint – all she wanted to do was find Tucker. During all this Chantal had an eye op and was at our house the minute she was discharged, eye patch and all, to welcome Tucker home.
It would be nine days before I saw Tucker again…
I shouted his name
When I received the call on Tuesday morning at 07h15 to say that the lady had seen Tucker, I was very dubious. I’d rushed to so many dogs and was disappointed each time to find it wasn’t him. However, I haven’t ignored any calls, so I decided once again to dash out, but I must admit I really didn’t think it was him.
He’d been sighted near Impala Meats (Vincent Road and Western Avenue) in peak hour traffic by a young lady, Nikita Roelofse, and her little girl.
By the time I got to York Road, Azuredee van Straaten and her work colleague came running to me and said he’d headed up to Hemingways Mall. I raced up there, parked my car and planned to run. Gratefully, somebody drove past who was also on the chase and picked me up.
We saw him by a new building site opposite Hemingways Mall. He was absolutely terrified and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to catch him. At this stage, he didn’t even really know me yet. I did what everyone told me not to do... I shouted his name. To my amazement, he stopped. I shouted again; he turned around and walked right up to me.
I think he was just so tired and so happy to hear a familiar voice. Nikita and her little girl visited Tucker later that day and brought him gifts. Nikita told me how her husband is working in Texas for some time, so I’m really happy that they got the reward. My husband also worked away a lot when my children were small, so I know how challenging it is.
Azuredee van Straaten and her work colleague kindly put Tucker in his car and brought him home. The whole chase kept reminding me of a story I used to read to my children about “the runaway pancake” and how everyone on the way joins the chase.
People have visited with flowers and treats for Tucker. It’s amazing he actually wasn’t very thin. He was in pretty good shape, even though he’d been away for nine days.
He’s very nervous still and doesn’t want to go outside, but we’ll get there in time. At the moment he’s just loving his nice warm bed. Now and again I get a tail wag, and for now my goal is just to get that tail wagging all the time!
Ripple effect
The search for Tucker went beyond just finding him. On our trips we managed to rescue four dogs. EL Pet Pals again was happy to make space for some of them despite being full. A kind lady by the name of Wanda fostered another stray I handed over to her (she’s since found a home for this little one who was unclaimed). Dogs simply turned up at my house off lead; I’m not sure if they were also looking for Tucker, but their owners were located via the WhatsApp group.
I’ve had a couple of oldies which I’ve inherited over the years. Either people move away or pass away and the animals are too old and no one wants them. All of them have crept into my heart and been very special. My brother passed away in February last year and I inherited his old girl, Roxy. She came to me all the way from Zululand in KZN. Sadly, nobody wanted the old girl who lived close by; she was such a gentle old soul and asked for so very little.
On Monday, the day before I was reunited with Tucker (and the day after my brother’s birthday), Roxy passed away. It was very traumatic for me as she suddenly started having the hugest fits and was howling in pain. She was too big for me to carry and I couldn’t get a vet to come to my house. Thanks to the Tucker Group, one of the members on the group kindly organised Beacon Bay Veterinary Clinic to agree to come to my house and put Roxy to sleep. (Thank you to Delmarie Kent for coming through for me and organising Dr Kellan Fitzpatrick from Beacon Bay Veterinary Clinic who was in surgery at the time and dropped everything as soon as she was finished to come to my house and help me. Your kindness and professionalism was just something else.)
Tessa Boyd of EL Pet Pals shares...
I received the plea early in the morning to please post on our Facebook page. I felt it in my heart to post without waiting for permission from the owner of our sanctuary, Sue Kriel.
I do believe that us posting it so quickly, and it being shared 960 times from our page, aided the momentum needed to start the WhatsApp group.
The finding of Tucker is a miracle that I’ll never forget. This story was made more special for me personally as I taught Linda Bowman’s daughter many years ago and knew the anguish she’d be feeling.
