Elderly rescue dog found in beck three days after going missing

Flint, a 12-year-old bearded collie, disappeared last Saturday while exploring the fields near his home at Kinniside, near Ennerdale.

His owner, June Lambie, a former Whitehaven dog trainer, took him in about six years ago, on the day his previous owner was due to have him put to sleep.

Last weekend, June had taken Flint and her other dogs out on their two and a half acre paddock, before returning home and realising that Flint was missing.

She said: “I’ve put a lot of work in with him and he’s been the most fabulous pet. I still don’t know what happened but we’d been in the fields with them all. The grass is quite long.

“They come home and get their biscuit. They race each other up the track. We got home and I was handing out the biscuits. There was one biscuit too many and I realised Flint was missing.

June pictured with her 12-year-old rescue dog, Flint, after he returned home (Image: Newsquest)

“This was minutes after us leaving the field. I went back and whistled for him but there was absolutely no response. I covered as much of the area as I could and there was absolutely no sign of him.

“I contacted McKenzie Leder, who searches for lost dogs. She came out and gave us some advice on what to do.

“You start to think about looking further afield. We went through every cottage and farm at Ennerdale bridge. Nobody had seen him.”

June had begun to fear the worst but was contacted by a neighbour who said he had found Flint, however, it was a false alarm.

The same neighbour then believed he had found Flint for a second time but it turned out to be one of June’s other dogs, Nevis.

June said: “This dog, Nevis, would not move from the spot. He was absolutely rooted.

Nevis, June's other dog, who helped find Flint (Image: Submitted)

“I came down with the car and got Nevis home. I was home for less than a minute when my neighbour rang and said, ‘I’ve found the right dog this time’.

“When I went down, the dog was trapped in the beck. We think he was probably there from the day he went missing. Either side of the beck is a very high sandstone wall. He would not have been able to climb out. He was suffering from hypothermia.

“I just burst into tears. I had resigned myself to the fact that there was a good chance he had had a heart attack because he’s an older dog and he was laying somewhere in that long grass.

(Image: Submitted)

“Until the guy came to cut the grass, I wouldn’t have been able to find him. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

Since his ordeal, Flint has been resting at home and June says he has done nothing but sleep and eat small meals.

She added: “He’ll be absolutely fine, it’s just a case of giving him time to rest. He’s been one very, very lucky boy.”