Dachshund Found After 36-Hour Motorway Escape in Somerset

When Lucy Rogers' dachshund Mabel slipped her collar at a motorway service station and ran toward oncoming traffic, Rogers thought she'd lost her forever.

The two-year-old dachshund sparked a massive volunteer search effort Friday after escaping at Leigh Delamare services on the M4. Rogers and her partner Jordan Goss, both 23, were making their final stop before completing their house move from Suffolk to Somerset when disaster struck.

"I pretty much blacked out. I was just screaming," Rogers said, watching her beloved pet dart toward the busy motorway. Goss and other bystanders rushed after Mabel, chasing her along the hard shoulder as multiple cars pulled over to help.

But Mabel, terrified and in survival mode, evaded everyone and disappeared from sight.

The couple spent all day searching before calling DroneSAR for Lost Dogs, a volunteer charity that uses thermal imaging technology to find missing pets. The volunteers worked through the night, flying drones over fields near Chippenham to locate the tiny dog.

Sunny's Take

Saturday morning brought hope when Mabel was spotted near a stable yard in Kington St Michael. But catching her would take patience, teamwork, and one very muddy rescue.

Guided by phone by drone pilot Caroline Coward and other volunteers, Rogers crossed a waterlogged field to reach the hedgerow where Mabel had settled. She dropped to the ground and whispered Mabel's favorite phrase: "Would you like some breakfast?"

Rogers tossed chicken on the ground, but Mabel ran straight past the food and leaped into her owner's arms, licking her face and wiggling with joy.

"I couldn't have done it without them," Rogers said of the volunteers. "It was literally a miracle."

For Coward, who spent hours coordinating the search, the rescue felt "really, really rewarding." She admitted the pressure was high given how close Mabel had come to the motorway, but seeing the reunion made every sleepless hour worthwhile.

Mabel is now safe in her new Somerset home, thanks to strangers who refused to give up on one scared little dog.