Toy's story moved hundreds of people in the Touraine area. The fate of this large dog – a Rhodesian Ridgeback, who has traveled dozens of kilometers and has been wandering for weeks in the south of Tours and even in certain neighborhoods of Chambray-lès-Tours and Joué-lès-Tours – concerns Sandra, its new owner, who wanted to recover the dog after the death of her mistress, killed in a road accident.
“We don’t know why he got here”
From Orléanais where he initially lived on a stud farm, to Touraine where he has settled since last summer, via Loir-et-Cher where he ended up staying with a relative for a while from his first mistress, Toy embarked on an incredible journey. “We don’t know why he got hereexplains Nathalie, a volunteer from the Pet Alert association, who is part of the small group gathered around the owner. But as we try to keep him here, he finds food thanks to the feeding points that we have installed. »
A QR Code to signal your presence
More than 300 people follow the latest Toy news every day on the Facebook group dedicated to it. The owner's relatives have now put up posters with a QR code to scan to report the presence of the animal in real time. “As there is a lot of traffic in Grandmont Park and there are a lot of students there, we created this Instagram account which is widely used by young people,” explains Nathalie.
Volunteers put up posters in the neighborhoods where the dog circulates to invite passers-by to report its appearances via Instagram.
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Dozens of reports arrive every day to the group, which notes them in real time on an Excel spreadsheet. Thursday, November 21, 2024 in the afternoon, Toy was, for example, reported behind the La Vallée-Violette shopping center in Joué-lès-Tours. The municipal police were even called.
Last weekend, he was seen again in this same area and on Tuesday November 26, 2024, his presence was reported several times in Chambray-lès-Tours. “There are three neighborhoods where he is seen regularlyspecifies Nathalie. Grandmont Park, part of Joué-lès-Tours and the L eco-district sectorat Guignardière in Chambray-lès-Tours. Some people put bowls of food on him. »
However, passers-by are not advised to try to catch him because attempts risk encouraging him to flee even further.
The Tours Métropole pound will try to capture him
“People got attached to Toycontinues Nathalie. As soon as we don't hear from him anymore, they call us to find out how he's doing. When we learned that it was going to snow last week, our hearts sank. We tell ourselves that he must be wet, cold. »
A call for caution is also launched to motorists because Toy regularly crosses avenue de Bordeaux and boulevard de Chinon. However, it is not considered dangerous. At the Tours Métropole animal pound, it is confirmed that Toy was filmed by public highway surveillance cameras on several occasions.
A capture attempt, via a large cage, should take place very soon. The cage will be installed for around ten days, with food in front of the entrance then gradually inside. “If it doesn't workwe don't have many solutions, indicates the metropolitan pound agent. To put him to sleep remotely would require a hypodermic syringe gun and a licensed veterinarian. We don't have that in the department. »
The group of volunteers tried everything, including asking the Beauval zoo. In vain. He is still in contact with several veterinarians outside the department to find another solution in case the capture fails.
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