Well the time of year for Christmas and New Year has been and gone, and we see ourselves into yet another year. The whole Jacob being missing has shown us just how time can fly by and seasons come and go without hardly a breath being taken.
We have had a number of sightings later into the winter months, Bracco being walked in the Surrey area, of which turned out to be dogs that are known to respected Bracco Breeders we know of, and another 'Bracco' looking dog that was seen roaming in the depths of all the bad snow and rain, that turned out to be a Pointer who is known local to that area for being a wanderer, and had on occasion been chauffeured home by locals to where it begins it's plans of the next great escape ! - sadly for us, it meant that those heart jiggers, the hope was gone and accounted for, but it also meant that a dog we initially thought was out surviving the snow and cold was actually accounted for and safe.
It was at the time of the dogs being reported to us a possible 'Jacob's' that we sat and discussed how to go forward, and what else we could physically do to lift the search and re-ignite it, but it was upon this discussion that Jon and I sat and queried the whole media hype that we and friends built back in 2009.
Was that hype and press coverage the downfall for Jacob ?
Did the overload of him being exposed as being missing mean that anyone who had him, would have a lot of questions to be answered and explaining to do no matter what the circumstances arising out of them finding or knowing about him were ?
It's reasonable to say that a lot of folks would not want that intrusion for just finding a missing dog. We after all live in a society now that means many would much rather walk past scenario's where they could get involved, but they don't for fear of what that 'involvement' could perhaps cost.
I wonder actually if we had just gone through the motions of alerting people 'quietly', and through the normal channels about him being missing, it might have ended differently.
Maybe if someone did find him, it would have been much easier for him to be given back without question ? Many disagree that the hype did wonders of getting his profile out there and therefore if anyone did have him, it would mean he couldn't be kept without questions and I agree I guess, but I am not sure about that we would go that route now. Purely because I still meet people with dogs of their own, who read papers and own computers who have never heard of Jacob's plight. In my eyes that just goes to show that no matter how hard you try, all that hype, well it doesn't necessarily reach everyone. Proof in that being my neighbour in a barn a stones throw from us, hadn't known about Jacob, even though there were posters everywhere here. She was shocked a few months ago to hear of his story.
Most of all moving into the new year, there certainly are lessons we can look back on and learn from. Milo the 6 month old Italian Spinone puppy was thankfully found safely after almost a week of being lost in the woods in Nottinghamshire. The way that we all rallied immediately hearing his news has shown that the people who have been through this can and do react at a moments notice, and action plans put into place. That's comforting for us in case (we hope) it happens for us in a big way with Jacob.
Thankfully little Milo was found safe and well, and notoriously very casually hopped into the owners car when the boot was opened one morning as she sat putting her boots on in the car park - we laugh about it now, but the pain for the owners of him being lost through those long days and nights was unbearable to see. It's true to say that you can only know that feeling of dread and worry having actually lived it yourselves.
The very same week Milo was lost another Spinone Oscar was also lost in a park in the heart of Cambridge city. We spent countless hours walking and postering for his return, only for him to be returned by a call from gypsies a week later, them having said they 'bought' him from a bloke in a pub. It amazed me how quickly dogs can change hands and how they can become a target of a total money making exercise. Shocking, but true. How gypsies were in the right place at the right time again amazes me.
Makes it very conceivable that Jacob perhaps found his way into their hands, and who knows what and where he ended up from there. If Oscar could change into their hands in a day, where does that leave Jacob in years ?
Hopefully he will, if alive, soon become past his sell by date if used for breeding, and having served his purpose we might well get a call saying he's been found. It's a long shot by any means, but we have to keep that hope burning, we've read the stories of people being reunited under all sorts of circumstances, some a good many years later, so there's always hope........ they'll always be hope.
I love this photo, I know it's not a photographic masterpiece, but the joy in Jacob's eyes says everything -
