KS Angels Rescue dog Amber swims to Brownsea Island after escaping Bramshaw home in New Forest and spending over a month on the run

A rescue dog from the New Forest swam to Brownsea Island during more than a month on the run.

Amber was eventually rescued by a stunned crew on a Poole tour boat who spotted her in the sea as she swam towards the mainland.

Sam Collins who co-founded rescue charity KS Angels Rescue, in Lyndhurst, which was caring for Amber before she escaped, said: “They stopped the boat and called her. She swam over and clung on for dear life to the ladder at the back with her claws.”

“We estimate she covered over a 100 miles while in the Forest so I think by then she was just desperate to be found.”

Amber, a retriever cross, had escaped from the garden of a foster family’s home near Bramshaw on 25th April where she had been for only a night.

She was brought over to the UK by from a kennel in Qatar where she had been living for over four years after being found living on the streets as a puppy.

Sam said: “The foster family have a huge garden and had just had deer fencing put in so they have no idea how she managed to get out.

“They were very upset and have been out nearly every day looking for her. We were all getting a bit worried as time went on, especially when there were no sightings of her for about four or five days.”

The charity put up posters around the areas Amber was spotted and also appeals on social media.

Sam said: “We had sightings from all over the Forest and elsewhere. She covered a huge amount of distance, one day she managed about four miles in an hour.

“She went up to Ashurst, Godshill, Blandford, and Cadnam. Lots of people joined in the search, which was lovely.

Sam believes that because it was lambing season and with lots of foals being born Amber had a ready supply of food in the form of afterbirth.

He said: “She was lucky, really, and on Brownsea Island a lady was leaving out food for her. Members of the National Trust on the island all went looking for Amber but they couldn’t find her.”

It was only when Amber decided to go back to the mainland that she was finally rescued.

Sam said: “The boat crew spotted her swimming, it was so great they managed to get her. They put photos of her on social media and I realised at last we had found her.

“My wife and daughter went to get her and there were lots of cuddles. She was very happy to be found and was in good shape although she was quite skinny.”

Amber is now back with her foster family who are letting her into the garden only on a long lead.

She will be put up for adoption once the charity has completed all its checks on her.

Sam said: “She is a really lovely dog and will make someone a great pet. They will just have to ensure they have a very secure garden!”

To donate to the charity visit: https://www.ksangelsrescue.org/