Real life
When Lynn Wallwork’s dog Tara went missing, she spent weeks searching for her. Then, just when she’d given up hope, a doggone miracle happened
As anyone with a pet knows, they’re not just an animal. They’re part of the family. And that was exactly how Lynn Wallwork and her husband Alistair, 53, felt about their two papillon pooches, Candy and Tara.
‘I’d grown up with dogs and adored them. I became a dog groomer, and when I met Alistair in 1997, we always had two or three at a time,’ says the 58-year-old from Egerton, Lancashire. ‘I couldn’t imagine life without them.’
The pair got Candy in 2020, followed by her half-sister, Tara, eight months later. ‘Instantly, they were inseparable. Candy was the ringleader and Tara was always trying to keep up,’ says Lynn. ‘We were besotted.’
So when Tara went missing last October, it was Lynn’s worst nightmare. She had driven the dogs to a cemetery five miles from home for their afternoon walk, a chance to enjoy the autumn sunshine. After reaching the woodland beyond it, she let them off their leads.
‘The pair ran down an embankment and were jumping around, clearly enjoying themselves, so I let them play for 15 minutes before pulling out my dog whistle to call them back,’ Lynn explains. ‘But only Candy returned. I couldn’t see Tara anywhere.’
Lynn whistled again, then, putting Candy on her lead, made her way down the hill. There, she discovered the ground was covered in a patchwork of holes, and Candy showed her an opening that led underground.
‘My heart sank,’ Lynn sighs. ‘Tara loved rabbit holes and I knew that she was small enough to have scurried down.’ Lynn called and called for her pooch, to no avail. There was no sound of paw steps or the bell around Tara’s collar. Worried, Lynn phoned Alistair, who left work to come and help, then the fire brigade. They both arrived at the same time.
‘As Alistair helped comb the area, the firefighters examined it. They had bad news, telling us the holes were actually protected badger setts,’ Lynn recalls. ‘I understood we had to follow the rules and couldn’t dig, but it was frustrating that she could be trapped in a maze of underground tunnels. Plus, if there were any badgers, Tara wouldn’t stand a chance. I couldn’t bear to think about it.’
By midnight, the couple still hadn’t found their four-legged friend and made their way home, their hearts heavy with the knowledge they were leaving her in the cold and dark for the night.
The next day, their search continued. They contacted the landowners and Natural England, and with the help of the Badger Trust and Greate
