{"id":4845,"date":"2026-02-08T14:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T14:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=4845"},"modified":"2026-02-08T14:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T14:27:02","slug":"lost-spaniel-is-found-after-two-weeks-in-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=4845","title":{"rendered":"Lost spaniel is found after two weeks in the wild"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A relieved dog owner says his faith in humanity has &#8220;sky-rocketed&#8221; after hundreds of people braved freezing temperatures to try to find his lost spaniel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Matt Grimshaw said Nelly, an 11-year-old cavalier King Charles spaniel, vanished during a walk at Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire on New Year&#8217;s Eve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He spent the first day scouring the hilltop and woodlands for Nelly \u2013 racking up 66,000 steps before heading home in the early hours the next morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hundreds of volunteers joined the desperate search over the next two weeks before an emaciated Nelly was finally found by pheasant hunt beaters, trapped in barbed wire.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"The curly hair on Nelly&amp;#39;s ears is caught on barbed wire. She is in a woods setting, among mossy logs and brambles.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/dOpjnxiZpaDoUXblqNIPug--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/286d857b060a97dde3daf32e8ff5529f\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Nelly was discovered among brambles and barbed wire, trapped by her matted ears [Mike Lord]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the first few days, Grimshaw and his family posted appeals online which quickly spread across social media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Day two and three, the snow came and it got very cold so it was a real worry,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;It was hell, really.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Charities, colleagues, and acquaintances he had not spoken to in years came forward to help \u2013 providing sniffer dogs, drones and thermal imaging cameras.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;For them to keep travelling out, it made me believe they know something I don&#8217;t about dog survival. It gave me actual hope she might still be around,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Even if we hadn&#8217;t got her back, obviously our lives would be miserable, but our faith in humanity has sky-rocketed. It really has.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">More from Gloucestershire<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Grimshaw was at work on 14 January when he received a call from a woman on an unknown number.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I recognised Nelly&#8217;s bark in the background. I choked up, I couldn&#8217;t quite believe it,&#8221; he recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She told me they were doing a pheasant shoot through the woods in Cheltenham Abbot and one of the beaters had spotted a black and white spaniel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She was looking very matted and very skinny, but ultimately vocal and chirpy, and OK, surprisingly. It was absolute joy, elation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It is presumed Nelly survived on a scavenged diet of leftover food scraps, rabbit droppings and perhaps a dead pheasant.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Brown, white and black cavalier King Charles spaniel being held by her owner. They are sitting in a room with wooden floorboards and are sitting in a low chair. Matt is stroking the dog.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ECnbXsPKw0X5v_KuOjopSQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/d27ff5ea80e6791c527c01f47fc9d271\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Nelly is now back to her normal weight, says owner Matt Grimshaw [Matt Grimshaw]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After being rescued, the spaniel was rushed to the vet where she received antibiotics for frostbitten paws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She has since regained weight and is back to her normal self.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She now wears a GPS tracker and is confined to a lead on walks after &#8220;11 years of running free&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The whole time in the back of my mind, there was this element of guilt because she was lost under my watch,&#8221; Grimshaw said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I felt a huge relief that we&#8217;d got her home and it was never going to sit on me that I was the one that lost her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She almost seems perkier now than she was when she left.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Follow BBC Gloucestershire on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bbcgloucestershire\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Facebook<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCGlos\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:X;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>X<\/em><\/a><em> and <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bbcradioglos\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Instagram<\/em><\/a><em>. Send your story ideas to us on email or via <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bbc.in\/47DEoQy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">More on this story<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A relieved dog owner says his faith in humanity has &#8220;sky-rocketed&#8221; after hundreds of people braved freezing temperatures to try to find his lost spaniel. Matt Grimshaw said Nelly, an 11-year-old cavalier King Charles spaniel, vanished during a walk at Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire on New Year&#8217;s Eve. He spent the first day scouring the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}