A COUPLE were left devastated after a dog-sitter lost their beloved border collie while they were on holiday – and they claim that she is lying.
John and Julie Pearson paid for the dog-sitter to look after Fred, 13, during their planned 10-day sunshine break to Turkey.
John (pictured) and Julie Pearson were left devastated after a dog-sitter lost their beloved border collie[/caption]
Fred went missing when the couple were abroad in Turkey[/caption]
But just four days into the June holiday the dog-sitter called them to say that the rescue dog had gone missing in Westbridge Park, in Staffordshire.
The worried couple cut short their holiday and hopped back on a flight back two days later.
And the Pearsons have scoured CCTV, called in Staffordshire Police, and alerted a lost dog team in a desperate attempt to find Fred.
John and Julie say that there are “lots of discrepancies” in the dog-sitter’s version of events.
Read More in News
John, 67, said: “She sent us a text message saying he had got diarrhoea at 12.36pm UK time but that’s also the time that she said she got stuck in the river with three dogs.
“She wouldn’t be sending a text saying he’d got the runs while stuck in the river trying to get out. It doesn’t ring true.
“We’ve got CCTV footage that she left that site at 12.59pm – she hasn’t even looked for him.
“We know Fred doesn’t like the water so I can’t see him going in the water voluntarily.
Most read in The Sun
“She says he got out on his own, she had got three dogs off their leads, and says they all went in the river.”
And according to the Pearsons the dog-sitter said the third one was stuck so she had to go in and she got stuck.
They continued: “We spoke to the lady who helped her and she says she can’t remember seeing our dog at all so I wonder if Fred was there.
“We’ve got proof that she left at 12.59pm so from 12.30pm to 1pm she hasn’t even looked for Fred, if he was there she just abandoned him.
“There’s a phone number on his collar but we’ve had no phone calls. She said it might have come off when she dragged him out but first she said he had got out on his own. She is changing her story all the time.”
Brown-and-white border collie Fred has been part of the Pearson family for the past 12 years.
John added: “Fred is part of the family, it’s like losing my son. We thought it would be fine and he wouldn’t be gone for long.
“He could have had an accident or she could have sold him. I am certain he wasn’t there on that day.
“Everyone knows how friendly Fred is. Everyone we’ve spoken to seems to think it doesn’t sound right. We miss him daily, it’s very difficult.”
And the distraught family appealed for anyone who knew of his whereabouts to come forward.
“If someone has Fred, he needs to be with the people he knows. If you have any information please come forward, there’s a huge part of our family missing,” they said.
Staffordshire Police were called in on Friday, June 17. Fred was last seen in Westbridge Park on June 10.
Read More on The Sun
A police spokesman said: “Police received a report of a missing 13-year-old brown-and-white border collie.
“The dog was last seen at Westbridge Park, in Stone. Officers have investigated but there are currently no further lines of enquiry.”
