Rescue dog reunited with owner 14 days after escaping Thorseby holiday home

Casper is a Romanian rescue dog who ran away from his family's holiday home in Thoresby Park on Thursday, June 26.

An appeal was launched immediately by the animal charity Beauty’s Legacy as volunteers distributed posters in the Thorseby Park area, laid out food and water, and tracked Casper’s movements using seven cameras and food stations.

‘Nervous’ Casper jumped from a window of the holiday home, raising concerns about possible injuries.

However, upon monitoring his movements and based on recent sightings, Casper thankfully appeared uninjured.

Casper's owner, who lives in Cambridge, had to leave her Thorseby Park accommodation due to other guests – but stayed in the area to assist in the search.

In a Facebook post, Beauty's Legacy, run by Lisa Dean from Wellow, shared the news that Casper was safe, along with a photo of him reuniting with his owner, Poppy Coy.

Casper was approached several times during this two-week period and, while he was on the run, covered a large distance, appearing in Church Warsop, Clumber Park, Budby, Thoresby, and Ollerton.

Beauty's Legacy, consisting of seven dedicated volunteers – including two drone pilots and five ground volunteers – worked tirelessly around the clock to bring Casper to safety.

Volunteers printed and distributed 380 laminated posters along with hundreds of flyers.

Lisa and her team expressed their gratitude to Thoresby Estate and the surrounding landowners for granting free access to their land during the search.

The charity founder also praised the community, noting that while mapping Casper's route, they decided to heavily poster Bilsthorpe, as it was likely to be his next stop.

On the day Casper was found, a man named Neil from Bilsthorpe called to report that he had seen a poster and that a dog resembling Casper had briefly entered his garden. But the dog became spooked and ran into a field behind his house.

Lisa arrived within minutes, followed closely by Poppy.

While Poppy stayed in the field behind Neil's house, Lisa searched the outer perimeter with Neil.

Neil then spotted Casper lying in the top corner of the field. Lisa called Poppy and guided her over the phone, watching Casper with bated breath.

As Poppy approached him, she knew the drill.

She crouched low and spoke in a calm, confident voice, using his trigger words while holding a handful of bacon treats.

Casper recognised her almost instantly and, within a minute or two, sauntered over, relieved to be ‘caught’.

The exhausted dog was rushed to the charity's veterinarian, as he was clearly dehydrated and emaciated.

Casper received fluids under his skin and will be closely monitored, as he is painfully thin.

Lisa stated that there is no doubt he would not have survived another night.

She said: “A massive thank you to the team, the community, and everyone who supported us in every way.

“A special thanks to Poppy for trusting us, following our guidance, and allowing us to do what we needed to keep her boy safe.

“Campaigns like this incur costs in fuel, printing, food, cameras, batteries, data, and trapping equipment, and we rely entirely on donations.

“If you would like to donate and help us continue supporting families like Poppy's, please consider donating. Thank you.”

Poppy added: “Team, I owe you everything. This boy is my entire world and I couldn’t have done this without you.

“You’re absolutely incredible super heroes. I have no other words than thank you.”

Residents are asked to remove any posters they find and dispose of them responsibly, as Casper has now been found.

If readers would like to donate to the charity, allowing the team to continue helping families like Poppy's, please donate via PayPal (using friends and family) at [email protected] or through bank transfer to account number 53792468, sort code 309089, Beauty's Legacy Business Account. Visit www.beautyslegacy.co.uk/support-us for more details.