The Flying Sausage

Now you have probably come across stories of flying saucers, and I suppose that, considering how extensive the universe is, it’s definitely not beyond the bounds of possibility that extraterrestrial beings could one day arrive on our planet. How long we have to wait to see a genuine flying saucer complete with aliens is anybody’s guess; however, had you been in Hampshire in England in January 2022, you might have witnessed one of the most bizarre aerial escapades ever recorded. The flying sausage!!

The prelude to this extraordinary event came with Millie, a three-year-old Jack Russell, who was out for a walk with her owner when she unfortunately slipped her lead. Millie panicked and ended up on what are known as mudflats that are regularly submerged when the tide comes in. This presented a considerable problem as anyone attempting to walk on this precarious terrain is likely to end up waist-deep in mud and have to be rescued themselves.  The only reason that Millie was able to survive was that she weighed so little.

Fearing the wurst

The emergency services were all informed, and after several futile attempts to rescue Millie over two days, they quite reasonably concluded that a rescue involving humans was impractical and extremely dangerous. With the incoming tide, time was critical. The issue was not helped by the fact that Millie was frightened and kept running further away when approached.

Enter the Denmead Drone Search and Rescue (DDSAR) team.

This organisation was the brainchild of Antony Rumming, a retired police officer who was present at the London bombing on 7 July 2005, also known as 7/7, as Islamic extremists detonated devices across London. As a result of his experiences in the aftermath and other traumatic events, Antony was left with complex PTSD.

Banger of an idea

As everyone was discussing what to do, a volunteer had an idea. The terrain was impossible to traverse, so getting to the dog was out of the question; the only alternative was to make the dog come out, and maybe food would entice Millie. Now you need a fairly bizarre imagination to come up with this solution, but with all attempts having failed, the team were prepared to try anything. The suggestion was, “How about tying a sausage attached to the drone by a piece of string?” Now, whoever dreamed that one up was obviously thinking outside the box. A very nice lady offered to cook the sausages; one sausage was attached to the drone, and the operator flew it close to Millie.

The smell of the sausage was too much for a dog that had not eaten for two days, and sure enough, the small dog followed it as the drone operator carefully led Millie to safety. Things didn’t go entirely to plan as Millie managed to grab a bite out of the flying sausage, nearly causing the operator to lose control. The lure of the sausage ensured Millie’s safety as she was led to safety, but just as everyone was celebrating, she disappeared into the nearby woods. It would be another two days before Millie was found at a fire station three miles away. Millie was eventually reunited with her very grateful owner, Emma Oakes, and showed no ill effects from her adventure.

Now we all know that our best friends appear to have dreams. So, in the future, will Millie dream of airborne sausages, and what’s more, if she hears a sound similar to that of a drone, will this prompt her to stare skyward as memories are revived of flying sausages?

Food for thought

For those who collect additional odd facts, I am reliably informed that the sausage in question was a British sausage purchased from an Aldi supermarket and conformed to European Union Regulation No 1169/2011. This ensures that the meat content doesn’t fall below 42%, however if the sausage was the high end Aldi Specially Selected British outdoor bred pork sausage, then these are the very best with a meat content of 97%. I trust that, if that were the case, Millie would have been suitably impressed.

Footnote. As there are usually six sausages in a pack, there has been no explanation for who ate the other five!