Monty: "We are 90% sure he is alive"

Tuesday 20 March 2018

Monty has been missing for exactly a month now, and his owners say it's "unbelievable" he hasn't been found - but they still haven't given up hope.

The nine-month old whippet went missing from Le Mont Mallet in St. Martin a day after he arrived in Jersey.

The white and grey whippet had been on holiday in Jersey with his owners Roderick and Edita Collins. He was playing with another dog when they were both accidentally let outside by the cleaner. The other dog, who belongs to the couple's daughter, returned, but Monty never made it back.

His disappearance led to large-scale searches around St. Martin with members of the Jersey Dog Forum getting involved. The owners initially offered a £600 reward which was then increased to £1,600 through donations, including one from QuidsIn. A Facebook group, which now counts over 1,200 members, was also set up to help monitor all search efforts. 

A month on, Monty's owners refuse to give up hope. Francesca Collins, one of of Roderick and Edita's daughters, told Express: "It is unbelievable he still hasn't been found, but we are 90% sure he is alive. There has been lots of signs, we have found lots of prints. There has also been some sightings. It's catching him that seems to be the problem now. The team has been catching a lot of cats but no Monty!

"The problem with catching cats is that once they are in the cage, they make a lot of noise and scare Monty away. He has been more timid that we thought he would be. He is keeping to himself. He is doing well for himself though, we have been finding a lot of dead animals." 

Pictured: Monty has been missing since 20 February.

While most of the Collins family lives in England, they have been counting on a faithful team of islanders to try and bring Monty home. JJ Gallagher, a specialist in tracking and rescue systems at RS Tracker, and his five-year-old Jack Russell, Sammie, have taken the lead spending up to seven hours a day outside trying to track Monty. Scented bags, food, BBQs, cameras with motion sensors and humane cages have all been used. 

Francesca said: "My father lives in England so he has been going back and forth. It has been very, very useful to have local people involved, they have been so, so helpful. JJ, Amanda, Anna and Marie-Claire they are the four main people helping with the search. They all are dog owners and they have been incredible."

Although Monty had been discreet in the past week, leading the 'Search for Monty' group to rename him Houdini, paw prints were found over the weekend, as well as a number of dead rabbits. According to the searchers, the whippet is hiding somewhere between the dolmens and the campsite area in St. Martin but no definite location has been identified. Francesca explained: "There are a few fields in the area and places where he could hide. With the potato harvest, farmers come and there are big noises which scare Monty away. Fields are being sprayed with stuff dogs hate, I don't know which chemicals exactly, but it means he would be avoiding those fields. 

"What we are trying to do is find the place where he is going and place food and water regularly so he gets used to going there. We need to pin him to one location first! It is quite normal for whippets to be particularly hard to find. He has gone feral now, his primal instinct has clicked in his head. We are hoping that once we find him he will readjust quickly."

Pictured: Monty's owners refuse to give up on Monty and are hopeful he will soon be home.

"My parents are still sad. They have three grown up children, we are all in our 30s now so Monty is their baby. I asked my dad if he wanted to maybe get another dog and he said 'Absolutely not!' They are not giving up hop. All we are asking is that people keep an eye out. If they see something white and grey zoom past there is a high chance it might be Monty!" 

Anyone with information on Monty’s whereabouts can contact Rebecca Collins and her husband Nick on 07829 782001 and 07829 782007, or the rest of the Collins family on 07799 065425, 07885 721980 or 07786 364610.