08/01/2025
CHIP'S STORY (FOUND 6th Jan 25) 🖤
Bernedoodle Chip escaped from his Mt Martha home on the 31st Jan 24. Unfortunately, as Chip's family were on their way home to ensure he was safe and sound before the NYE festivities started, they found they were too late, Chip was gone, as fireworks had started, early!
Chip was sighted later that evening on the Esplanade, a very busy cliff edge windy road, by some very kind people who stopped and to tried and help him, but it seems he was not having any part of being caught and ran. It was reported only recently that Chip had been hit by a car, thankfully he only sustained minor injuries, he must have had some angels watching over him. Chips family and friends including Chips fur friends were all searching for him, letterbox drops, flyers and lost dog posts made on multiple lost and found and community pages on. The local community got behind Chip’s family and hit the ground running with searches, looking out for him on their travels and offering their help and support where they could. It is these communities that all band together, support each other in times of need, that make you think to yourself, wow, how lucky is this family to live in such an amazing community.
Chip was finally sighted on a property off Dunns Rd, a food station was set up at the back of the property near the walking track that he walks on a Sunday with other doggie friends, unfortunately there was no food taken or any indication Chip had been around overnight. Further sightings were reported with Chip, who was seen on the large property where Donato’s Café is on Craigie Rd. Chips family Leigh, Penny, Maddy, Charlie, and friends including Chip’s fur friend, raced over there and as they were walking down through the property they saw Chip on the John R Anderson Reserve. Penny called out to Chip, he stopped and looked but a car pulled into the reserve and Chip ran, with everyone in tow. Food stations, cameras, food trails were placed as well as tying strips of a towel that were soaked in liver water, sardines, and hickory smoke on trees in a trail direction leading to the food stations. A dog’s brain works in pictures, when a dog is in survival mode, we use owners’ scent to help bring those pictures back to the front of the brain and triggering memories. Of course, this works differently with those dogs that do not have any owners, recently adopted. Unfortunately, Chip didn’t show, and we figured he must have run all the way down Nepean Hwy and either hid in someone’s property until he felt safe or immediately went straight to the underpass and crossed over to the other side of Nepean Hwy, to find safety.
A call had been received, that at approx. 4am there was a noise that sounded like a dog coming from The Briars, this was near the same walking track Chip takes with his fur friends. Chips family instantly acted, removed two of the camera’s, food stations and scent strips and re located them. One was placed up near the gate on Graigie Rd where Chip waits at to meet his fur friends and one down a little further along the track. Later that evening Penny went out and sat at the food station near the gate for a while and then returned the following morning around 4ish, sadly again Chip didn’t show.
More reported sightings of Chip received early hours of the morning on Augusta St, heading towards The Briars. Penny and Leigh shot out there, to see if they could get in front of him and walk back along the track to cut him off, they didn’t see him. Another sighting of Chip was reported on Ferrero Reserve, Mt Martha Junior Football ground, this is a place Chip knows very well as his family are a part of the football club and is another regular track walk. The whole family, Leigh, Penny, Maddy and Charlie went and sat at the ground waiting, softly talking and calling out the favourite phrases they use with Chip, we do this instead of calling out their names because, dogs in survival mode do not recognise you and let alone their names.
Leigh, Penny and Maddy dismounted all the camera’s and relocated them, with a trail camera at the end of the walking tracks at Balcombe Estuary and Ferrero reserves, the live camera was placed a little further within in Ferrero Reserve. Penny, Leigh and Maddy got working on the trailing consisting of ground trails and smelly scent strips tied to trees. Small food stations were placed at each of the trails and a larger one at the live camera. As instructed, they walked in specific trailing directions, i.e. up each track approx. 20m, then straight back to the food station, this is because if Chip was around, we want him to follow the scent, we didn’t want him leaving the area in search for them.
At approx. 12:28am Chip arrived, nose to the ground following scent and headed straight to the food station, sniffing the towel Penny had used earlier that day. We could see that Chip went into the long grass behind the food station, stood there looking around for a bit and then came back out again, this may have been one of his resting/hiding spots. Chip continued, sniffing, looking up, sniffing, he ate his delicious dinner and from his behaviour and body language we knew Chip ready to go home. Chip left the camera view, nose to the ground but unfortunately because he is black and it was pitch black out there, I couldn’t track his direction for long.
Penny and Leigh had already planned to head up that morning at approx. 6am, cook some bacon on the BBQ, because Chip LOVES bacon, and if he was going to be there, the smell of cooking bacon would hopefully entice him to pop out. We advised Penny and Leigh that Chip had showed, and that Penny should go in first on her own for a while. Penny arrived and everything just happened so quickly, once she got to the towel at 5:15am, Chip came out excitably greeting his Mumma, jumping all over her and I am sure if he could talk, he would be saying, come on let’s get the heck out of here, I’ve had enough, and I want to go home!
Chip has had his vet visit, he has some sore paws, a cut, and some soreness from the car accident but he is fine and is home recuperating from his adventure. Chip is one lucky pooch to have such a wonderful family who just love him so much, along with the wonderful community they bought him home safe and sound. They were tired, exhausted, and stressed but they kept going, they followed all our advice, didn’t waiver and they believed in the process, you should be very proud of yourselves, as we are of you.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank, the community for helping Chip and his family, because without the community’s help, we wouldn’t have got the sightings that were such a pivotal part in getting Chip home this quickly. Six days may not seem quick to you but in some of the other cases we have helped, it certainly is nice and quick in our eyes!
Last but not least, thank you, Leigh, and Penny, Chips family and friends and the community, for all you are doing for us. We surely do not ever expect anything, we are just volunteers who love what we do, helping lost pets find their way home or if homeless, to safety. Your kindness, generosity, and support for us and what we do, there are no words that can describe how grateful and appreciative we are to you all. Having a thermal drone which will be named ‘Chip’ and more equipment will enable us to be more effective in helping lost pets, we just cannot thank you all enough, it truly means the absolute world to us.
Love Sherri and Tracey xx
Milly’s Search, Track and Reunite – Melbourne Branch
