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Rescue dog which went missing near Bury St Edmunds is found

PAT WARD Benny looking hungry, brown and white fur, sniffing the ground at Lackford Lakes.PAT WARD
Benny's adventure saw him go to a private trout club and a sailing and canoe club before he was spotted on the otter cameras at Lackford Lakes Nature Reserve

A dog which went missing for three months survived two storms alone before being reunited with his owner.

Rescue dog Benny went missing on a walk in West Stow, near Bury St Edmunds, in September.

Since then volunteers and dog groups have been searching for him.

He was spotted by chance on a wildlife camera meant to monitor otters and was found nearby. His owner said finding Benny had meant "an awful lot" to her family.

The nine-year-old Corgi cross-breed dog went missing during a walk with his owner Pat Ward, who adopted Benny as a rescue dog three months previously.

She said: "We had a mishap and the lead got dropped. We were walking with another rescue dog, who was excited and knocked the lead out of my hand.

"I've beaten myself up about it but been told it's one of the easiest ways dogs go missing."

PAT WARD Benny the dog in his bed, a rescue corgi cross, back curled up in his bedPAT WARD
Corgi Cross rescue dog Benny is back home for Christmas, having survived the October storms

"He was picked up on the otter cameras at Lackford lake nature reserve," Mrs Ward said. "The rangers allowed the search and rescue cameras to try and find him.

"He spent some time at the sailing and canoe club and then ended up at a private trout club near where we live."

During his time in the wild, Benny survived the torrential downpours from Storm Babet and Storm Ciarán from October. It is believed he survived on food which was left on the ground by volunteers.

"The area where he was is now underwater," Mrs Ward said. "He's terrified of winds, but whatever he was doing, he's not going to tell us."

The search party consisted of volunteers, a drone pilot as well as the Finding Ipswich Dogs Organisation, which eventually caught Benny and brought him home.

Mrs Ward told BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin: "He was happy to be home, but as a nervous dog it took him a while to get settled down.

"At the moment he's on bland food because we have to be careful what he eats until he puts on weight again.

"I'd like to thank all the people that helped. Family and friends who stood by. FIDO and the rangers at Lackford Lakes, and the lady who spotted him at the private club."

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