Our dogs mean the world to us – but imagine losing sight of them for just a few moments and them vanishing.
This is a reality for tens of thousands of owners and doglost.co.uk is there to help people find their pets.
A worrying five dogs are stolen every day in the UK and many more go missing.
Many are found and because the pet might be thin and appears neglected, they’re kept, known as ‘theft by finding.’
But families are desperately searching and this is why we share Doglost cases in the hope their photos and stories are seen by someone who knows where they are.
This month the families of Angel, Spot and Jack share their stories.
Angel is a dark chocolate Patterdale terrier and went missing on a walk near her home in Cambuslang in Glasgow on December 3rd 2018.
The five-year-old dog was on a walk with her Zeus, the other family pet, in the Newton area and they’d been playing in a woodland.
Zeus came back to owner Ross but Angel simply vanished at around 3pm and hasn’t been seen since.
Owner Kirsty Letham said: “The woodland is close to a building site and we asked the foreman if anyone had seen her. She always comes back when my husband whistles.
“We searched the site until it went dark, called the police, notified Doglost and put out alerts on social media. It’s not like her, she knows the area.
“We put out food and scent bases but nothing. I know she wouldn’t just run off, I’m convinced she’s been taken.”
Since then Kirsty and her daughter Zoe have been in touch with rescues, vets, railway staff, websites advertising dogs for sale in a desperate bid to find her.
They’ve had drone searches and brought in tracker dogs but there’s been no sighting or even a scent of her.
Kirsty said: “It’s the not knowing that tears you apart. It has taken over our lives and we spend every moment waiting for news.
“We have had so many kind people support us and share her story on social media, and words can’t describe what is it like not having her here with us.
“Her blanket sits on Zoe’s bed just as it was when she was here just waiting for her to come home. She is such a funny little dog with lots of character and we all love her so much.
“Heartbroken doesn’t begin to describe how we feel. Zeus and our other dog Saint are bereft too, Saint has cried every day and keeps searching for her.
“If anyone has had a Patterdale like her in the last seven months, please take her to the vet to get her scanned and make sure it’s not our girl. We just want her home.”
If you know anything about Angel, call Kirsty on 07713134603, visit her Doglost page or the Bring Angel Home Facebook page.
There is a £1000 finders fee for anyone whose information leads to Angel coming home. If you know anything, call Doglost on 0844 800 3220 quoting ID 137732.
Spot is a 15-month-old female Welsh Collie who went missing after she attended a train programme at a farm in Gwynfe on Thursday 6th December 2018.
Her owner Carwyn Powell had Spot from her being a pup and planned for her to be a farm dog at their home in Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire.
Bright, friendly and inquisitive, Spot was very much a family dog, but while she was doing her working dog training, she vanished.
Carwyn said: “We received a voicemail saying Spot had run off the day before. I couldn’t believe it. She was always so loyal and obedient.
“On the day Spot went missing, she’d been taken to another area of land by the trainers. I’ve tried to piece together what happened and I can only imagine she was spooked.”
There was a sighting of her at 3pm on the 5th December at The Three Horseshoes pub but no-one knew she was missing at that point.
Carwyn and her family put out flyers, called in a tracker dog twice who picked up her scent and she was seen on January 2nd in Llanddeusant, near the Red Kite Feeding Centre.
Lots of people in the area have rallied to try to help find Spot, who is chipped and spayed, and the family are pleading with locals to leave posters up in case she’s seen.
Carwyn said: “Spot wasn’t just a farm dog, she was a family dog and we miss her terribly; she is especially missed by my mother who fed and nurtured her as a pup.”
“We’re at a loss as to how this could have happened and are always looking for and finding ways of highlighting that she is still missing.
“If you see her, please take her to a vet, or do something to contact us. No questions will be asked, we just want her home safe and will never give up.”
If anyone has any information relating to Spot’s case or knows where she is, please contact DogLost on 0844 800 3220, quoting dog ID 137849 or visit her Doglost page here.
Jack is a female Kelpie and went missing while on a walk with her family on May 1st 2017 near Ely, Cambridgeshire.
She was only 20 months old and is described as looking like a little black and tan husky and went missing near the Fish and Duck Marina around 10pm.
Her owner Iva McCartney says she is friendly and has a good recall and spent hours that night calling her and squeaking her favourite ball.
She said: “We were walking both our dogs and usually, if they didn’t come running back immediately when I called, they would always come back but our male dog came back alone.
“It was like she had literally vanished off the face of the earth. I didn’t want to move too far from the spot she was last seen though, just in case she came back.”
“The next day, I fully expected to get a call to say, ‘we’ve just found your dog’ as Jack is insanely friendly and would sidle up to anyone, but now it’s been over two years.”
Iva has been told of a few possible sightings of Jack, who was wearing a red collar and tag, in the months after she went missing and hopes she is still alive.
She’s left out clothes, put out posters and even had a thermal scope and camera search to no avail.
It’s thought Jack might have been found and kept by someone who thought she was a stray having had to fend for herself but the message from Iva is that she is much loved and missed.
She said: ““At the time she went missing she was a young and perfectly fit dog, with a really confident, loving, friendly, if a bit cheeky personality. She was just coming out of her “terrible teens” and turning into an excellent dog
“The hardest thing is not knowing what happened to her. We just want to know she’s safe, or if something bad has happened, to know that too.
“We have offered a reward and if anyone knows anything about Jack, please please get in touch, there will be no questions asked.”
If anyone has any information relating to Jack’s case or knows where she is, please contact DogLost on 0844 800 3220, quoting dog ID 114568 or visit her Doglost page.
Every month I share these appeals, my heart goes out to the families who are desperate for news.
If you live close to where these treasured pets went missing, please make people aware of them.
It would be amazing if you could share their stories as the more people who read about them, the more chance there is of them being found.
Below are other appeals for missing dogs that we’ve covered this year:
Doglost appeal for Isla, Harper and Rossi
Doglost appeal for Louie, Nala and Dixie
Doglost appeal for Louie, Aika and Anna
Doglost appeal for Ruby, Beetle, Izzy and Dana
Doglost appeal for Albi, Willow and Tilly
