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Border
Collie theft ends in heartache
THE APPARENT theft of a young Border Collie bitch ended in tragedy
after her body was found on a road some five miles from her owners’
house.
Fire Station Manager Geoff Parkinson and his family had eagerly
awaited the arrival of their new pup, Jess, from Janet Oliver
of the Corie Collies, and in the few months she had lived with
her new family she had become, in Geoff’s words. ‘the
centre of our universe.’ In addition to his duties at the
Fire Stations in East Sussex, Geoff is also Training Officer for
an overseas disaster response team RAPID UK - Rescue and Preparedness
in Disasters - and Jess - ‘beautiful, clever and so quick
to learn’ - quickly fulfilled his hope that she could become
his canine search partner. Geoff explained: ‘We began training
almost immediately, search skills need to be second nature from
as early an age as possible. Jess was exemplary. She was trained
to be steady around all people, to show confidence and be ever
welcoming to visitors and strangers alike. For protection she
was microchipped and had a tattooed number in her ear.
On the morning of Thursday 17 April 2003, between 1000hrs and
1230hrs someone came to the Parkinsons’ house and carefully
removed the catflap from the back door, leaving a hole big enough
for Jess to get through. When Geoff arrived home at around 1245hrs
Jess was nowhere to be seen and the catflap parts were strewn
around the floor.
Phone calls to the Police and local vets were immediately made
and before long a woman rang saying she'd seen Jess on the road
around five miles away. Sadly, it turned out Jess had been hit
by a car and killed.
It is thought she was snatched with a view to selling her for
breeding but that it was realised this was impossible due to her
tattoo; police also suspect that she was thrown from the vehicle
and consequently struck.
Jess’s family are heartbroken; in Geoff Parkinson’s
words: ‘I shall miss her terribly, Jess has been a wonderful
companion and was well on the way to becoming a wonderful search
dog.
So, not only have I lost a friend, the world has lost an unsung
hero of the future.’
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