A plucky dachshund that got lost as fires raged across Cape Town's southern suburbs last weekend has emerged unscathed from the devastation — to the delight of its owners — after a 10km trek over four days.
The blaze destroyed about 3,000ha of mountainside vegetation and was eventually contained this week by firefighting crews with aerial support.
Holly, a seven-year-old female dachshund crossbreed, was adopted by the Deering family just over six years ago during the festive season — hence the name Holly.
“We previously had a dachshund named George, but he had tuberculosis ... he was very sick for quite some while, and as a result of losing him we waited a few months and decided we wanted another dog,” said owner Peter Deering.
He was walking Holly and a German shepherd in Silvermine on April 27 when helicopters flew overhead to douse the flames. “As I walked to the car, I went on one path and the dogs took another,” Deering said. They became separated.
“The German shepherd found me, but Holly did not ... the fire brigade were saying, ‘You have to leave.’ I could not go look for her. These flames were running wild, there were burnt-out cars in the parking lot at Silvermine — it was raging. You feel so frustrated that you cannot do anything,” Deering said.
The family turned to social media, appealing for help to find Holly. A day later the pooch was spotted twice but ran away from South African National Parks members.
The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa, rangers and residents helped Deering search the area on Tuesday. “That morning, I went back before dawn to see if she would come back because she would not want to be spooked by the helicopters,” he said.
“I took a bed and a blanket and put it there hoping she would venture out. Tuesday was a bad day; we had no updates, no progress.
“I felt terrible that I was inside while she was in the wild in a burnt-out environment, not knowing what she was doing, what she was going through. Potentially snakes could have got her, baboons could have attacked her, and we were trying to do all that we possibly could.”
On the fourth day, a family having lunch at Cape Point Vineyards spotted a dog drinking water.
“Because they had seen my notice on Facebook, they noticed her and called me ... I drove to the location and the owner took us to the last spot she was seen,” said Deering.
After some searching Holly was found and brought back to Cape Point Vineyards. “We were just crying ... unbelievable. She was very affectionate and has been ever since,” said Deering.
A family friend used a drone to trace the route they suspected Holly had taken and estimated she travelled about 10km over four days.
A veterinary examination found that despite losing a bit of weight, she was in good health.
“Remarkably, despite the vast area of mountain that was burnt, Holly was completely untouched. She has no internal or external injuries, much to our relief,” the Animal Welfare Society said on Friday.
“All sorts of people have been sending their wishes. The response was overwhelming ... If only she could talk to tell the story,” said Deering.
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