Our dogs have such a special place in our hearts and lives
The thought of losing them is unbearable.
But heartbreakingly, every day around 60 pets in the UK are missing or stolen.
Thankfully, help is out there. Doglost.co.uk is a resource where thousands of people across the country are alerted when a dog is missing.
They have a database with each dog’s details on, and, crucially, they help owners keep calm and give them the support they need during those vital first hours.
I’ve partnered with Doglost and each month I will be sharing cases in the hope it brings dogs home.
The owners of Ruby and Beetle, Izzy and Dana share their story.
Ruby and Beetle
Ruby and Beetle are mother and daughter Border Terriers and went missing while out on the Lothian Estate.
They were with their owner Georgie Bell and her husband Ed close to Ormiston House near Jedburgh on the Scottish Borders.
Both dogs are very familiar with the area.
The super intelligent little dogs were off lead and dashed off together after a scent and have never been seen since the afternoon of 28th December 2018.
Mum Ruby is five and Beetle is two, and are very close. What may stand out is that they are very small Border Terriers, only weighing around 6kg. Both are microchipped.
Georgie said: “Ruby loves the outdoors and being on the estate with Ed. Beetle would rather be with the family, she was my shadow, she followed me everywhere, even to the loo.
“She is so loving and needy whereas Ruby is more independent. As mum and daughter they were a very close unit, they love being together, lying in their beds and cuddling.
“They love running around together but always, always come back but we spent days walking around the estate, checking they hadn’t gone down a mineshaft, hole or well.
“We wanted to exhaust every possible scenario but it came to nothing. I miss them so much.”
Georgie fears the girls have been stolen and has put up a £5000 reward
The couple have three children, Tom, 15, Felicity, 14, and Frances, 12 who are desperate for their dogs to be returned.
Posters have been put up all over the UK and their story has appeared in several newspapers but still no news.
Georgie said: “They are my world and since they went, I have been glued to my phone and computer waiting for messages. It’s tearing our family apart.
“We fear they’ve been picked up by a gang because everyone we know would have brought them home.
“The house doesn’t feel like a home and it’s taken over our lives and impacted on our relationships.
“The children are desperate to have them back, all my youngest daughter wanted for her birthday on January 4th was to have them back.
“Please if anyone sees them or knows where they are, we want to know they are safe.
“They may have been sold on and the new owner might not even know their background.
“So if anyone knows of someone who has two little Border Terriers who might be our girls, please contact us.
“We’ve put up a £5000 reward for their safe return, we just want them home.”
If you have any information on the girls call call DogLost on 0844 800 3220 quoting dog ID 138714 or visit their profile here.
Izzy
Izzy is a six-year-old Apricot Cockapoo and went missing four years ago.
Heartbreakingly, she ran away from her home in Radcliffe, Manchester, on April 16th 2015, when workmen let themselves into her home.
Owner Ian Purvis who lived with wife Dawn and daughters Lauren, 16, and Evie, ten, had nipped out to get some paint and she was at home alone.
Startled by the stranger, Izzy who was anxious around people she didn’t know, ran out of the door and into the garden where she stood trembling with fear.
The builders tried to retrieve her which scared her even more and she noted out of the gate.
Dawn said: “I know how scared she would have been. I just wish Ian had been able to get home to catch her before she was so frightened she ran off.
“In those first weeks and months, we put scent trails down, cut up old t-shirts and put pieces into bushes to leave her a trail home.
“Ian went out walking in the early hours every morning and late every night for months just in case she was trying to find her way home, whilst it was dark and quiet.”
Ian and Dawn set up an online appeal and rang the police, council, rail and motorway authorities
The family hope and pray Izzy has been taken in and cared for by someone that thought she was a stray and that one day her chip will be scanned and she will find her way home.
Although very shy and timid, they believe she may have been sold and the new owner may not know her full background and that she is a missing dog.
Izzy is spayed and her family keep her microchip details up to date and one day a call will bring news of her safety.
Over 8,000 people are in a Facebook group searching for her and the couple have spent £10,000 in their search, including calling in a pet psychologist and pet medium.
She said: “My daughters often wake up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare about her. How can I tell them it will be OK when I don’t know myself?
“Izzy is part of my family and has been for six years, we love her so much and I will not just give up on her, she’s in my heart forever and I feel like a piece of my heart is missing with her.
“If someone has her please just let her come home, that is all we wish for, to have her back home with us.”
If you have information on Izzy, call DogLost on 0844 800 3220 quoting dog ID 82954 or click here to see her profile.
Dana
Dana is a terrier cross rescue dog from Serbia.
She moved to be with owner Michele and her husband to what they hoped would be her forever home but on 18th June 2016 she went missing.
Dana was visiting family in Langley, Slough, about 35 miles from her new home when she went missing from a garden.
She had been playing with Freddy, the family’s other dog, when something spooked her and she escaped.
Dana was last seen on the Langley Canal a month later, and despite returning to the area where she went missing every day for months, Michele hasn’t seen her since.
Michele said: “Dana is a sweet and loving dog but wary and timid of strangers.
“Both me and my husband have left our full time jobs now working part time so we can concentrate on our other dogs and keep up the search for Dana.
“We also postponed our wedding in September 2016 as we couldn’t bear the thought of getting married without Dana being there.”
The family are hoping she was picked up as a stray and kept
Michele wants to appeal to anyone that may have Dana or who might have found her and gave her to someone else to get in touch.
Dana is spayed so can’t be used for breeding, is microchipped and was wearing a collar on the day that she disappeared. There is also a reward for her safe return.
She said: “Dana would have celebrated her fifth birthday in January and we still marked the occasion.
“She is still very much part of our family, even though she is not with us. In the short time she was with us, we fell in love with her. She was a very loving little girl and we won’t give up on her search”
If anyone has Dana or has information on what happened to her, please contact DogLost quoting dog ID 101412 or to visit her profile click here.
Sharing their stories increases the chance of the dogs being round.
Knowing Doglost has reunited dogs as many as eight years gives owners hope in this desperate time too.
If you can help, either by sharing this post or giving information, it means to much.
To find out more about Doglost and their work, you can read Why Jayne Hayes set up Doglost or Can you help find Albi, Willow and Tilly.