Dismay after dog is abandoned near school
Perth residents have been told to keep their ears to the ground after a dog was abandoned by the grounds of a local school.
A search party of over 20 was launched to scour the area around Perth High School on Tuesday night for the small white-furred pooch.
One eyewitness said they saw an individual parking by the school, letting the dog off its lead and then jumping back into the car and driving away.
Katie McCandless-Thomas, who runs Missing Pets Perth and Kinross, was part of Tuesday’s search party and posted on the group’s Facebook page in an appeal to the public for their help.
Shortly after the incident on Tuesday, Katie posted: “We would ask people around Oakbank Road to look out for this wee dog as it could be hiding in a nearby garden.
“If people are going to look out for this wee dog please do so very quietly.
“If you head out and there is already a lot of people out looking too many people searching could scare it further so it’s best to not flood the area with lots of people.
“Any further information or if you see the dog and are struggling to catch it please call me on 07432 368792 and we will come and assist.”
Katie used a thermal scope to improve visibility in the colder temperature, but the dog was nowhere in sight.
Another potential sighting was made by a nearby local the following day, with Katie posting: “The gentleman who seen the dog last night called me this morning.
“Between 8.15pm and 9pm, he seen a car at the car park on Oakbank Road outside the high school let a dog out.
“His own dog then became excited and that’s when he noticed a wee dog in the bushes.
“The dog, possibly a Jack Russell, then ran up the road away from the Glasgow Road direction before then crossing to the left across from the high school where it was lost sight of.
“It could have been a misunderstanding and another dog was loose at the exact same time?
“To make sure everything is covered the police have been informed and, thanks to the help of someone else, the ball is rolling to get CCTV checked.
“We work with the information given to us and currently we haven’t had reports of a dog missing in the area so incase this wee soul is still out there we would ask Oakbank residents to check their gardens oncase it is hiding.
“We just want to make sure this little dog is okay.”
Whether any criminal wrongdoing has been committed is yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
A Tayside Police spokesperson said: “Around 11.10pm on Tuesday, January 5 officers received a report of a dog being abandoned near to Perth High School on Oakbank Road. No criminality has been established.”