Has Bella the lamb eloped . . . with Blake the sheepdog?
WHEN Natalie Haywood brought home an orphaned lamb, she was amazed when her sheepdog Blake adopted it as his new best friend.
But fears are growing for the unlikely pair after they both vanished from her garden.
Despite the fact that Bella the lamb trotting along with her canine companion would make a surprising sight, there has been no news of the animals since they disappeared on Monday.
Miss Haywood took in Bella, who is still being bottle fed, from a neighbouring farm just over a month ago after her mother died. She paired the lamb with oneyear- old border collie Blake and they bonded straight away, sleeping side by side on a family rug and spending much of their time playing together.
‘She was an orphan and the farmer let me have her,’ Miss Haywood said. ‘The two of them have been inseparable ever since. Bella thinks Blake is her mum and fol- lows him around everywhere and Blake is so gentle with her.’.
But they have now both gone missing from their home near Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, leaving their 22-year- old owner distraught.
‘I’m desperate for news about them,’ she said. ‘I’m so worried about what might have happened.’ She discovered they were missing when she returned to her home in the village of Perlethorpe after running an errand. The local postman said he had seen Bella and Blake in the garden when he made his morning call.
Adding to the mystery, the only report of either of the animals has been of a dog matching Blake’s description spotted in Nottingham, a 30-minute drive away – but with no mention of a lamb.
Miss Haywood said someone may have either stolen Blake or found him and was taking him to the authorities, and that he may have escaped from their vehicle.
But that would not explain why Bella went missing at the same time. Miss Haywood has since spent hours searching the local area, particularly walks where she used to take Blake, in case the two had wandered there together and became disorientated.
Miss Haywood has appealed for anyone who sees Blake and Bella to contact her and pictures of them have been widely shared on social media.
She said: ‘If the pair have become separated it may be that Bella has found a flock to live with, but I’m desperate to know what’s become of them.’ The disappearance was reported to a local dog warden and Newark and Sherwood District Council has joined in the search. A spokesman for the council said: ‘We think they may have escaped, but we can’t rule anything out.
‘We are asking anyone who may have seen them to get in touch.’
Blake has a microchip but no collar. Bella was wearing a pink collar with a flower on it.
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