Glasgow resident thanks Moray locals for "unbelievable" support after missing dachshund is found in Burghead
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A GLASGOW woman has thanked local people in Moray for their "unbelievable" help in reuniting her with her pet dachshund Alfie.
Jill Cowan had taken a break from her job as a recruitment consultant to travel to Roseisle with her beloved pup recently.
However, the relaxing getaway soon took a turn for the worse when Alfie was spooked by a dog which had tried to attack him after getting off its lead.
Jill said: "In that split second Alfie managed to get out of his collar and ran along the beach towards Burghead.
"I tried chasing him but couldn't keep up. He then ran up a bank towards the car park and disappeared.
"A young boy saw him and pointed me in the right direction but with not knowing the area I didn't really know where to look."
Locals sprung into action to help a distraught Jill after word spread of Alfie's disappearance on various local social media pages.
A drone was used to scan the local area, posters were printed out and locals offered to search all day for the diminutive pooch.
One local dog walker even started lighting BBQs in an attempt to attract Alfie to the scent of food.
"We were all just blown away by the community and how much people wanted to help," Jill said.
"The local response was unbelievable, I've never met so many kind and caring people before.
"People were offering the use of their campervans, spare rooms, tents, sleeping bags and asking if I needed coffee or food brought down to the car park as I was sleeping over in my car the first few nights."
Jill admits she was "physically and mentally exhausted" after spending 12 hours a day looking for Alfie.
However, her ordeal was brought to an end last Friday when Alfie was found in a garden in Burghead after being missing for six nights.
Jill said: "I'm still pinching myself that he's home with me. We've been through a lot together in such a short space of time.
"He's my everything and the thought of losing him under such circumstances was just devastating.
"As I was carrying him back to the car everyone was crying.
"A couple of cars even pulled over to ask if it was Alfie, it was just unbelievable how many people seemed to have heard about what had happened."
Jill says she is going to make a donation to a local charity in Moray as a thank you to everyone that helped.
"I will forever be thankful for all the help and support I received," Jill added.
"I hope this gives other dog owners hope if they find themselves in a similar situation.
"Even small pampered dogs can look after themselves in sub zero conditions."
