Plea for sightings of van, dogs

A Dunedin couple have issued an appeal to the residents of South Canterbury to keep their eyes peeled for their two missing dogs which are believed to be travelling in a white van.

Dice, a 9-year-old black poodle, and Weed, a 3-year-old fox terrier cross, were reported missing from the Otago Peninsula by their owners Alan Funnell and Louisa Andrew on October 17.

Since then, there have been searches carried out in and around the peninsula area to no avail. The couple spent days searching their 16-hectare property where the dogs were reported missing.

A social media page set up to help locate the dogs has attracted close to 7000 followers and reports of sightings all over the South Island. Funnell said yesterday they had been contacted following ‘‘very sketchy’’ reports of sightings of a white van in the

Temuka, Timaru and areas in recent days.

‘‘We think the van has been in the South Canterbury area but we can’t say for sure, reports fit the description,’’ he said.

Funnell said he believed the ‘‘very rough dirty white Nissan van reported in the last few days in the Temuka, Timaru, Tekapo areas’’ was connected to the disappearance, as the dogs had been seen tied to a van matching that description in the Otago Peninsula

Tekapo

area last month.

Funnell urged residents to keep an eye out for the dogs and anyone who came in contact with the van to take down details including a registration plate.

‘‘Take pictures if you can, but no harassment please,’’ he said.

Desperate to find their dogs, the couple has also launched a campaign to wallpaper New Zealand with 5000 missing posters showing photographs of both dogs.