WHAT HAPPENED TO BEAU
Beau vanished from a 2.5 metre high verandah which was secured by a gate at the top of the stairs during the day between the hours of 8.00 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday, 1 July 2003 while I was away at work. The latch was on the outside of the gate.
It is impossible for a dog to open this latch. It is impossible for a dog to climb over the verandah railings. It is extremely unlikely that Beau could have been able to climb over the verandah gate.
I was advised by a Police dog trainer that it is extremely difficult training a Police dog to jump or climb over a gate or any object when there is a steep drop on the other side.
It was the expert opinion of this Police dog trainer that Beau did not climb over the verandah gate.
Our home is set well back from the roadway and the verandah is hidden from view by tall Jacaranda trees which line the driveway. The front gate to the property is locked. The entire boundary of the property is fenced with hinge-joint wire fencing, which the fencing contractor told me was ‘wild pig proof,’ and this boundary fence line is electrified. The house area is also fenced with hinge-joint wire fencing.
Beau had stayed on this verandah with his doggie family, Jessie and Benmore since he was a 4 months old puppy during times when I was unable to take them with me e.g. while I was at work.
Beau has never attempted to try to climb over the verandah gate.
None of my English Setters have ever tried to climb over the verandah gate.
My dogs always knew when I was coming home from work. Every time I drove down the driveway leading to the verandah, there would be Beau with his paws on top of the verandah gate calling out to me, crying because he had missed me so much during the day. Jessie and Benmore would be standing beside Beau, wagging their tails furiously and Benmore would also call out to me.
Beau did not ever try to climb over the verandah gate to greet me when I was arriving home. I am certain that if Beau was capable of climbing over the verandah gate, he would have done this long before 1 July 2003.
Beau was inseparable from me. Beau suffered separation anxiety even if I left him for a very short period of time and even though he was not alone.
Here is a photo of Beau at the screen door on the verandah when I arrived home from work. His tail is wagging furiously. The screen door is torn to shreds because of his desperation to come to me. Beau suffered separation anxiety when I had to leave him to go to work even though he was with Jessie and Benmore.
Beau was always extremely close to me. Beau loved his doggie family very much. He was very protective of all of us. Benmore was 16 years old when Beau came to live with us. When Benmore died on 26 November 2002, Beau became even more protective of Jessie and myself. Beau and Jessie were devoted to each other.
English Setters know their own breed and bond particularly close to each other.
I have no doubt in my mind that Beau would never leave Jessie, particularly while I was away from home.
I knew something was terribly wrong because when I arrived home from work on that terrible day on 1 July 2003, I could not see Jessie or Beau on the verandah.
When I went onto the verandah, Jessie was sitting on her bed and she looked terrified. She did not even get up to greet me. She had never behaved this way. I went over to Jessie and I held her and comforted her. Jessie looked at me and she gulped and then she put her paw over my arm.
When I asked Jessie where Beau was, she kept gulping and she kept putting her paw over my arm. Jessie was traumatised.
The next thing I noticed was that there was a chair moved right away from the table on the verandah and it was sitting against the wall. The 4 chairs were flush against the table when I went to work.
Neither Jessie nor Beau could move this chair so far away.
This is a photo of Jessie taken after Beau was stolen. She was never the same after this terrible day. She suffered depression for a long time, which is another reason I was so frantic to find Beau because I was so fearful of losing Jessie as well.
Dogs have feelings, and dogs suffer grief, trauma and stress.
It tore my heart apart seeing Jessie like this, and worrying about Beau.
No matter what I did, how far I travelled, how much money I spent, not one person had seen Beau !!!!
Most of the neighbours in the street where I live own dogs. Most of these dogs wander the street and the surrounding area. The dog next door is frightened of storms and takes off regularly. She has always been found and returned back to her home. None of these dogs have ever vanished into thin air, like Beau.
Where I live is out of the way. It is not near a main road. The properties in the area range from 2 acres to 15 acres, but most of the properties are around 5 acres. The surrounding bushland is not dense and is an environmental park. All the acreage properties in the area back onto this environmental park. There are fire trails throughout the bush which are more than a car length in width. This area was popular with 4WD’s until the National Parks & Wildlife closed off access to motor vehicles. The area is still very popular with horse riders, bush walkers and bike riders.
I can walk on foot through the environmental park from home to Eagle Heights which is a popular Gold Coast tourist destination in less than 2 hours.
It is extremely unlikely that Beau got lost in the bush. In fact, it is impossible because he was an intelligent dog, he knew the area and someone would have seen him.
There is a strong community spirit where I live. Many people have lived here for a long time and word spreads fast. If a local person had found Beau, someone would have seen or heard something and someone would have let me know.
My dogs are not ‘just dogs’ to me. They are my family and I am proud to say this.
My dogs share every part of my life with me. They come everywhere in the car with me, except to work and on hot days when it is unsafe to leave them in the car for too long. My dogs watch television on the couch with me. They are indoor dogs and sleep inside the house at night. I have planted many native trees on my property to encourage the birds to live here so my English Setters can use their natural instincts.
Beau was very happy. He had no reason to run away from home.
I am not God so I do not know with absolute certainty what happened to Beau on 1 July 2003. The Police considered that Beau and I were stalked; and the stealing of Beau was deliberate and well planned. The Police are experts in determining whether a crime has been committed. The Police had no hesitation in completing a crime report and issuing me with a Police crime report number for the stealing of Beau.
The Police do not have the resources to investigate the stealing of a dog. This does not mean that a crime has not been committed.
I could ignore the expert opinion of the Police and the information I have gathered. I could ignore my intuition and my knowledge of Beau and my family. I could focus on unlikely possibilities. I could allow myself to be bullied by those dog owners who are apathetic to the plight of 'missing' dogs (all animals).
Or else I could be unselfish and face the grim reality that Beau was STOLEN on 1 July 2003. The truth is that Beau would never have willingly left Jessie, his home or me.
When Beau was stolen he was a beautiful, elegant, very attractive looking dog in prime physical condition. He was groomed for the show ring. It was obvious to any human that Beau was very loved and very well cared for. No human could mistake this.
I am now certain the humans who stole Beau have always known my deep love for Beau and my desperation to find him. These humans have never had any intention of returning Beau to me.
This would explain why there have been no sightings of Beau despite my extensive advertising throughout Australia and the extraordinary media attention my search for Beau has received (refer the Media Stories web page).
I was strongly advised not to mention that Beau was stolen in advertising in case he may be harmed by the criminals who had stolen him. Most newspapers will not allow you to use the word 'stolen' in advertising anyway. I followed this advice. This did not mean that I did not believe in my heart that Beau had been stolen on this terrible day on 1 July 2003.
I made the best decisions I could and I have no regrets about the decisions I have made, even though so far I have been unsuccessful in finding Beau.
WILL BEAU REMEMBER ME ??
People keep asking me this question. I'll give you an example that happened on 8 March 2006. Hobson and I went to the dog park at Southport. Out of the blue, I saw a Border Collie running in my direction from the other side of the park. This Border Collie ran away from his family towards me, and I was a long distance away. I was unsure at first whether this dog was coming to me.
This Border Collie came directly to me, jumped all over me and he kissed me. It was Zeeko !!! Zeeko went to puppy kindy with Beau in 2001. I had not seen Zeeko for 5 years. Zeeko's mum said to me: 'Zeeko still remembers you after all this time'.
If Zeeko remembers me after 5 years, don't you think Beau will remember me. I have a much stronger bond with Beau ... I am Beau's mum.
In case you did not know, telepathic communication between a human and a dog has been scientifically proven. A dog was the first animal domesticated by a human 100,000 years ago.
Love has no boundaries.
Beau was inseparable from me, whatever I was doing, wherever I was going. Even when I took our Arabian horse, Khomet for a walk, Beau came too.
Beau is my friend, my defender, my dog. I am his life, his love, his leader.
Beau will be faithful to me to the last beat of his heart.
Humans may have stolen Beau and he is physically away from me. However, Beau's love and his heart will always be with me, and my love and my heart will always be with Beau. We are connected by an invisible band of love, no matter where he is.
Beau is not a human. He is 'only a dog'. He cannot make his way back home on his own. Beau needs your help to come back home.
PLEASE HELP ME FIND BEAU !!!
