Red the Lurcher

I was searching through photo albums for a photo of Rocco as a puppy when I found the newspaper clipping to the left about Red the Lurcher, a canine hero of Batersea Dogs home. Following is a youtube link and a couple of newspaper articles published at the time: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXpjX4l0hRg

Who let the dogs out? It was Red the lurcher

By Nic Fleming, Daily Telegraph

5 Oct 2004

With the light fading fast, a lone figure slides back the steel bolt, tugs open the cell-like door and slips out.

   Glancing about to avoid the diminished nighttime security, he moves quickly towards his destination: the kitchen.

   But as anyone who has ever had an illicit midnight feast will know, they are not half as much fun without pals.

   Red the lurcher astonished staff at Battersea Dogs' Home in south London by learning not only to unbolt his kennel door, but then to liberate his favourite canine companions to join the fun.

   Staff at the animal shelter were baffled when for several mornings in a row they arrived for work to find several dogs had escaped and wreaked havoc in the kitchens.

   Determined to find the culprit, managers installed video surveillance on Thursday night.

   They saw four-year-old Red reaching up on his hind paws and using his nose and teeth to undo the bolt securing the door to his caged accommodation.

   Even more astonishing was the sight of him then moving swiftly from kennel to kennel performing the same trick to free other dogs.

   Becky Blackmore, of Battersea Dogs' Home, said: "We had come in to chaos in the morning. It happened probably about a dozen times. We would come in to lots of dogs out on their block.

   "They had had lots of food, lots of fun and games and caused loads of mess. We weren't too sure what was going on. There are lots of stories about Battersea being haunted so we wanted to make sure that there was an explanation for what was going on and we managed to catch the culprit.

   "It is amazing really because lurchers aren't particularly renowned for their intelligence."

   Staff believed that Red's emaciated state when he was rescued as a stray in June could explain his determination to track down food. They are hoping his new-found fame will help to secure him a new home.

Red the canine Houdini does it again

by OLINKA KOSTER, Daily Mail

22 November 2004

Houdini: Red the lurcher

   He earned himself a reputation as the Hairy Houdini of Battersea Dogs' Home.

Red the lurcher became a media star after finding a way of opening the lock on his cage and then freeing other dogs for a midnight feast.

   Now, days after being re-homed, Red is up to his old tricks again - this time finding a way of locking his mistress out of the house.

   When Cristina Militello left him alone to pop out for a pint of milk, she found herself stranded in the cold and wet for four hours while she waited for a locksmith.

Grips catch with teeth

The Daily Mail set up a video camera at Miss Militello's home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, to find out how the dog had done it.

   The tape shows Red approaching the front door within minutes of his mistress going out.

   He stands up on his hind legs to bring his mouth level with a latch lock next to the door handle. Using his long, sharp teeth, he grips the catch - which is only a quarter of an inch wide - and pushes it down. Mission accomplished, Red jumps down and wanders off. With the latch in the down position, his owner cannot unlock the door from the outside with her key.

   Red was still in the doghouse last night as Miss Militello, a 31-year-old airline customer services adviser, told of the problems her pet had caused her.

   "I had taken time off work to get Red settled in and had been with him for two days," she said. "I decided I would leave him alone for just ten minutes while I got some milk.

"When I got back, I put the key in the door and couldn't get in. I was baffled. Eventually I realised Red must have something to do with it so I went to my neighbour's house, borrowed a Yellow Pages and called out a locksmith.

   "I waited three-and-a-half hours but he didn't turn up, so I had to call another one who came in half an hour. He said the catch had been pushed down and when I came in I found scratches on the lock from Red's teeth.

   "I was really surprised he had done that because you need a bit of strength to put the catch down."

Dog shelter

Red, who is aged around four, was malnourished when he was brought to the dog shelter in South-West London in June, along with his brother Lucky.

   By September he had taught himself to open his cage.

   Slipping his muzzle through the bars, he used his teeth to operate the spring-loaded catch and let himself out, before setting free his friends.

   Miss Militello contacted the dogs' home to ask if she could take in Red after reading about his exploits in the Daily Mail.

   She was looking for a companion for her six-year-old greyhound Lucy. Miss Militello, who picked up Red last Sunday, is now having to keep a closer eye on her new pet. "I might end up having to get a more secure lock," she said.

   "But I am not really angry because he is very playful and a great character. I didn't think I'd get Red because the dogs' home had so many inquiries about him, so I feel really lucky."