A day after arriving at her foster home in southern England, a dog named Amber escaped and embarked on an incredible 100-mile adventure over 36 days, which included swimming to an island and then being saved by a ferry while swimming back to the mainland, according to The Guardian.
After Amber was rescued from the streets as a puppy in Qatar and raised in a shelter, the golden retriever mix was relocated to the U.K. by KS Angels Rescue, only to vanish from her new foster family’s garden.
She was spotted several times in the weeks that followed, and rescuers used these sightings to track her and leave out food — but she kept moving.
By around the fourth week, sightings stopped, possibly coinciding with her 30-mile journey to a town on the coast, where reports of a stray dog surfaced, but were too far from her last known location to raise alarm.
From there, Amber bravely swam to an island a mile away, where she spent a few days and was fed by one of the residents.
However, the presence of a search party on the island may have frightened her, and she decided to attempt a return swim to the mainland. This time, she found herself struggling against the strong currents, but was fortunately spotted by a passing ferry.
“She swam to the boat and actually hooked her paws around the ladder on the side,” KS Angels Rescue Co-founder Sam Collins said. “They couldn’t pull her up because she had actually hooked her paws so tightly, so one of the lads jumped in the water to get in from behind her and push her into the boat.”
Once back on land, Amber was examined by a veterinarian, who found her to be underweight but otherwise in good health.
She was then returned to her foster home, where she received extra meals to help her regain her strength and the chance to catch up on some much-needed rest. The hope was that she would find a forever home once fully recovered, and just recently, she was adopted!
Lady Freethinker is grateful to everyone who had a hand in Amber’s rescue and is glad she found a home where she hopefully feels safe, loved, and never even imagines running away again.
