The Stress and Heartbreak of searching for a missing dog
The stress and heartbreak of searching for a missing dog.
The stress and heartbreak of searching for a missing dog.
Never having given up finding him, a Tik Tok video gave us a bit of hope!
A missing pet - it's hard to explain the feeling
It’s hard to explain to someone that doesn’t have a pet that they adore with undying love.
Before we moved to Sri Lanka, my wife and I didn’t have pets of our own.
I remember my boss at the bank losing his dog to a hot and run by a car. My thoughts were, it’s only a dog and I’m sure you will get over it. I managed to deal with the loss of elder family members, so a dog should be no problem.
How wrong and naive I was!
If you have a pet and it lives to a ripe old age, although it is heartbreaking when they pass.
Eventually you can accept that they are fine because they had a good, loving and fulfilled life.
They were treated like a member of the family and were the recipients of unequivocal love. It was their time to go and they had a good life.
You have to live life to really understand how it can affect you.
Being responsible for a dog is a special experience that is hard to communicate to someone that has not had a relationship with a dog.
From afar, it would be understandable for someone to have the view that you have so many dogs, if you lose one, then it’s not really a problem.
All I can say is that you didn’t meet Fleur.
The male dog with a female name. That is another story for another time.
We were blessed to have two dogs who were the stars of GlenMyu Estate.
We got lucky with our first
Clove was our first dog. We got so lucky! Clove and her sister were delivered to us by our staff who had seen that they had been dumped at the entrance to GlenMyu Estate. She had been abandoned along with her brother an sister and were all were the sim of my palm.
The brother had perished by the time that our staff had alerted us to these unwanted pups.
Reluctantly we took in the two waifs and named them Clove and Cinnamon due to they dark coats and relaationship with the spices of Sri Lanka
A Sri Lankan Tragedy
Cinnamon didn’t make it. That is another story. We failed Cinnamon and it meant that Clove was precious to us.
Perhaps she was a spoilt child. The guilt led us to be overprotective to this petite soul that we felt that we had a obligation to protect. Clove was over from outside to inside. She was allowed to sit and snuggle in between us on our expensive London department store settee.
We fell in love with this adorable, fun bundle of joy that was full of love that we envied. She broke into our hearts and would never leave us.
Fleur was a different case altogether.
The sickest of dogs that was not meant to live. A desperate plea by a neighbour to try to save this dying dogs. We picked that half alive bundle and took him to the nearest vet. A saline drip and several injections limped life into this lost soul.
We were travelling from the Sri Lankan Hill Country to the countries Capital of Colombo and he would hopefully recuperate with my in-laws.
Fortunately for this waif, my other in law had several dogs through her hands over the year. A dose of worm liquid delivered the main problems then next morning. A mess in the garden but issues expelled giving a hope for the future.
Getting better in Colombo
Convelescene in Colombo was the doctors orders and over time Fleur was managed back to “reasonable health”. A bad start in life led to ongoing medical problems. Multiple visits to various vets gave hope for an average life.
Loved (and named) by our nieces and spoilt by may mother in law Fleur was weaned back to reasonable health.
However, he was a dog that was always going to need regular care and vet visits. He has touched our hearts and we were committed to doing as much as we could.
Living in Colombo, Fleur, being a really furry creature, was happiest under the air conditioning unit. We concluded that dogs with fur should not be living in 36 degrees celcius.
With the air and graces of a Colombo City dog, Fleaur was eventually despatched back to the area where he was born in th Sri Lankan Hills.
It was a challenge meeting and assimilating with his new brothers and sisters at Glenmyu Estate. A loner dog that was used to being King of the Hill had to adapt. Fights, working out places in the hierarchy, and domain were eventually agreed and harmony mainly existed. There is always the occasional toff between brothers and sisters!
Our two stars
Clove believes that all our guests visit to meet and spoil her. She is a special soul that can reach into you heart within seconds of meeting. Clove has an energy of love that makes is hard for you not to reciprocate.
Fleur was our other star at GlenMyu Estate. This furry ball was hard not to fall in love with. We were embarrassed often about his antics with our guest, but all were taken in the spirit that they were given.
Photobomber
A photo bomb at a wedding photo shoot at the estate. The star of many a photo with our guests. Turning the fear of dogs for small children into love. We has so many guests asking to take Fleur home with them.
For me, I will always appreciate the time he spent with me as I was working in the garden at the estate. Fleur would spend hours with me as I worked in the garden, He would demand some attention occasionally, but appreared to just like being near me as I worked. Perhaps he was my casual security guard, just making sure I was safe from snakes or other dangers I might face as I went about my work.
I just really appreciated his company, An occasional rub of his head was all he required to be content.
An unwanted birthday gift
My birthday in February 2022 was a great event. Neighbours and guests at GlenMyu Estate had a great evening. Poor quality wine and fabulous food was sampled. Conversations and debates were had over the course of the evening and a good time was had by all.
The next day the question was asked ‘Where is Fleur?”.
He had not returned to my mother in law, who now lived at GlenMyu Estate the previous evening. It was not unusual for him, and the other dogs, to want to sleep outside in the warm February nights.
A no show for breakfast meant that we stated to worry.
The search for the missing dog starts
Search and rescue teams were sent out and returned with disappointing results.
I drove for miles in search of our absent dog. I feared that he had met with an accident on the road.
We were bereft as we were unsuccessful in our search.
Posters were printed and displayed. Many red herrings were followed up in our quest to be reunited with Fleur.
Trips to and back from Colombo and Banderawella were treacherous as I couldn’t concentrate on the road as I searched for dogs on the side of the road.
Searching for the missing dog goes on
Two years on I still look for Fleur.
My thoughts are “Why did you pick my birthday to disappear?”. Is that the depressing memory you want me to have on my special day. It’s not that I want to feel better in my misery. But could you not have chosen another day. My hope would be that my birthday would be a happy occasion every year.
I had given up hope and hoped he has passed. We were always concerned that if someone had taken our lovely character that he would be abandoned when the stealers worked out how many time he would need to be seen by the vet.
A glimmer of hope
A chance video on Tik Tok in July 2024 gave us hope. Hopefully what we saw was not a Doppleganger and our hopes are going too be dashed. Confidence is low, but what can we do but investigate with the hope that we will be reunited.
My confidence is at an all time low but we have to go.
I wonder whether I will get any sleep tonight on the anticipation that I will be reunited by and old loving friend. Tonight I will hope and pray that we will have happy ending.
If we do find Fleur we will hold him so close he will never leave us again.
The morning arrives
Both my wife and I were anxious and full of hope that we might find our missing dog.
Bomburu Ella Waterfall
We had not visited Bomburu Ella Waterfall before. In order to maintain a positive outlook, if we didn’t manage to find Fleur, then at least we would see something new.
The waterfall is located near to Nuwara Eliya and was around a one hour forty minute (51 kilometre) drive away.
We set off early on a Monday after a long weekend. If we had gone on the weekend, then the waterfall would have been very busy with local tourists.
It was an enjoyable drive to the waterfall and we parked close to the walkway up to the falls.
There were a few other Sri Lankan tourists who had extended their weekend to enjoy Bomburu Ella.
We asked the person taking the money for parking about the dog and showed him the video.
He recognised the dog and this gave us the encouragement to start the walk.
Commencing our journey to find our lost dog.
The pathway was a little hard to navigate, but with advice from some locals we were on our way.
Climbing up a concrete pathway we were amazed by the view of the agricultural landscape below.
We were pleased to see the recycling bins and the notice boards asking people to dispose of rubbish properly.
Ticket costs for Bomburu Ella Waterfall
Entry fees to Bomburua Ella Waterfall are quite reasonable.
LKR 700 is around US$2.50
(August 2024)
Entry Fees (Sri Lankan Rupees)
Local Adult 100
Local Child 30
Foreign Adult 700
Foreign Child 300
Disappointed, we carried on
After the heartbreak of the disappointment, we thought that we would make the best of the day and carry on to the waterfall.
After the disappointment - something to make us smile
We certainly needed something to cheer us up and put a smile back on our faces.
Bomburu Ella Falls were the right tonic for us.
What an amazing sight. The falls are spectacular, albeit we did not visit in the best weather. The local Sri Lankans that were enjoying an extended their long weekend added to the atmosphere. It’s great being surrounded by people that are having fun.
Our mistake was not to have brought our swimming costumes with us. We had focused on finding our lost dog, and therefore we couldn’t enjoy the full experience of Bomburu Ella.
However, the amount of rubbish dumped in the pools and the streams made it less attractive an option. We will certainly visit Bomburu Ella Falls again, but we will steer well clear of a busy long holiday weekend.
After chatting to the ticket attendant on the way out, he assured us that a team would be picking up the litter later on during the week.
Sri Lanka is full of many sights of outstanding beauty. It’s unfortunate that education pressing local people to look after their natural environment and not use it as a garbage dump had not been effective. We hope that in future years the people will respect this amazing environment and take their litter with them.
A rollercoaster of emotions
As we made our way back to GlenMyu Estate, we talked about our day. We were happy that we pursued this little chance of finding Fleur.
He is worth the time and effort.
We will continue searching for our lost dog and hope to be reunited with him some day.
Support our work caring for rescue animals.
By staying at GlenMyu Estate, you do not use support giving employment to local people and restoring the five acre estate. You also support our efforts caring for the street dogs that now have a home on the estate. We also have a rescue cow and bull, chickens and ducks which all have been provided with a loving, caring home.
Stay at GlenMyu Estate to explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country
Stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country
See sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.
We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.
The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,
GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.
The Stress and Heartbreak of searching for a missing dog Read More »
