Midshires & Welsh Borders Lost Dog Tracking Network

14/10/2026

Last week was both busy and successful for Team Midshires and Welsh Borders
Our friends at CEASaR CiC- Central England Animal Search & Rescue- Leics, Warks, Worcs asked us to help with the search for Freddie, an elderly Jack Russell who had gone missing from home. He was spotted a couple of times on the first day, but there were no further sightings for 3 days
LDTD Ivy and LDTD Tia tracked Freddie and identified an area for the ground team to investigate
We later received the excellent news that Freddie had been found in the area we had identified
Thankfully, he was none the worse for his 6 day adventure

07/10/2026

The Midshires and Welsh Borders team worked with CEASaR CiC- Central England Animal Search & Rescue- Leics, Warks, Worcs and Drone Search for Lost Dogs Worcestershire to reunite Tilly with the Davies family. Today, we received the best news: she had been safely trapped and is now home with her family.

Tilly went missing on 11th September in Wellington Heath, an area unfamiliar to her. She was seen twice the next morning, but there were no further sightings until a possible one in Ledbury on the 18th
LDTD Tia was deployed to determine whether the sighting was Tilly or another dog.
Tia confirmed it was Tilly, and cameras were installed in the area.
Further sightings were reported in this area over the following days, but then Tilly disappeared. During the next two weeks, she was seen across a wide area and rarely stayed in the same place twice.
A sighting on 1st October placed Tilly near Ledbury train station, raising concerns that she may have reached the tracks. LDTD Ivy and LDTD Tia were deployed to establish her route and, thankfully, confirmed that she had not followed the railway line. More cameras were installed, bringing the total to 14.
Tilly disappeared again before reappearing near Coddington on 6th October. As she seemed more settled during these sightings, the trap was deployed.
Today, as Tilly approached the trap, we held our breath as she circled it before finally stepping inside. At last, she was safe, her 27 day adventure had come to an end
Because Tilly was in full flight mode, the tracking dogs were not used to track her. Instead, they helped ground searchers confirm which sightings were Tilly and identify the direction she had taken.
The landowners were amazing allowing us to place cameras and the trap where we needed to and check them at all hours. The local community were amazing too
The map shows every reported sighting and the extent of Tilly’s journey.

Welcome home, Tilly.

29/09/2026

Really interesting post on how our dogs noses work - thanks to our Lost Dog Tracking colleagues in Notts & Derby

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CsW8CkXp3/es

Not only can a dog pinpoint a targeted scent it can work out which way that target travelled.

A dogs nose is a powerful tool.

20/09/2026

Following an intense 9 months of tracking practice & training we now have 5 more accredited Lost Dog Tracking dogs & handlers joining our team. Now with 12 dogs & 10 handlers that gives us more capacity to work with other volunteer groups, helping reunite lost dogs with their owners across the Midshires & Welsh Borders region

Great work everyone! You should all be very proud!

10/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19bfZ2kkWZ/

When people contact us to help find their lost dog, we always explain that tracking for their dog is just a part of the search process. This post by our colleagues from the Nottingham & Derby are explains it well!

The number 1 question I get asked when people are interested in what we do is

'What is your success rate?'

My answer is always 100%, but success can mean different things until you truly understand what the trackers provide.

We are 100% at giving information to any cases.

Our dogs are often 24+ hours behind a moving target so catching up to them can be impossible BUT information on areas to concentrate on and of no interest or routes that may be part of their natural looping behaviour can maximise the chances of the pet being found.

Physical finds happen in rare circumstances, many of these are due to the dogs no longer being capable of moving for various reasons.

30/08/2026

A real volunteer team effort has finally got Beryl back home after 7 weeks on the run! LDTD Jef & handler Adam were key in initially indentifying the location that Beryl was hiding. This enabled the setting up of feed & water stations which eventually led to her being secured.

Well done everyone! Stay safe Beryl!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1c5cSgGwa7/

29/08/2026

A chance to train on wet ground, through puddles & in the rain this morning!

26/08/2026

Our Head trainer Claire recently travelled to the Forest of Dean for two days CPD with the Midshires team.
Saturday focused on the operational teams, while Sunday was dedicated to those preparing for their final assessments in September.
Sarah and Bash, our ‘lost dog’ set excellent tracks through the dry, shaded woodland and along a shallow stream.
The area was challenging, with very dry ground beneath the trees and plenty of dog walkers and picnickers.
No one minded tracking across and along the stream and each track was designed to reflect a live dog search.
These are some of the tracks
Tracking across the water several times.
Tracking upstream to an end article placed in the water.
Tracking downstream to a live dog find
These CPD scenario days are vital for our ongoing training, and every team completed each track superbly.

The video shows trainee LDTD Daphne moving downstream whilst her handler attempts to keep up.

In the comments there is a map of one of the tracks

The blue line on the map shows the track Bash set, crossing the water several times and on through the picnic areas
The red line shows where LDTD Tia tracked more than 16 hours later.

24/08/2026

Some of our team attended a presentation by Phil of Beneath The Surface to learn more about what happens when lost dogs go into water. Really interesting & helpful information.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1ME38rsNuL/

22/08/2026

A great post from our Lost Dog Tracking colleagues in Notts & Derby, on the importance of using trained & accredited lost dog operational teams to search for your lost dog

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F6iq4dvt9/

We understand everyone wants to help but be mindful of the need for fully trained job specific dogs