Margaret's search for lost dog comes to Stratford

A heartbroken dog owner from Scotland is appealing for help in Stratford to find her beloved pet.

Margaret Sinclair, who lives in Duror near Glencoe, discovered her 11-year-old collie spaniel Katie had been stolen back on 31st January, with thieves cutting through a fence on the family farm to get to her.

Despite a determined search and publicity campaign in her area, Margaret has so far not managed to find Katie, but in April she had a tip off from a Stratford resident about a dog matching Katie’s description being spotted in the St Peter’s Way area.

Margaret believes there are several reasons why Katie could be in the Stratford area and is appealing for anyone who sees an animal matching her description to get in touch.

She is being helped in her search by the organisation Dog Lost and visited Stratford last week to search for herself.

Margaret said: “After Katie was stolen I put out a lot of information in our local area, it went viral really.

“I’ve not got over the heartbreak, but I’m just determined. Having spoken to Rebecca (who reported the sighting in Stratford) and taking everything else into account I’m about 80 per cent sure it’s Katie, there are a lot of things that fit, if it’s not her than there is another dog in Stratford that definitely needs help.

“I was at home and I just thought even if there’s only a 20 per cent chance it could be her, I would come down. Katie is quite different, she’s very small, you’d think she was a young collie from first looking at her but she’s not she’s 11-years-old. She’s got a distinctive teardrop marking on her head and Rebecca said this dog is in milk, which would fit the timings if she was stolen from us and she produced a litter shortly after. She was not wearing a collar either.

“I’ve also been informed that a number of dogs taken from our area have ended up in Worcestershire and Stratford is only just off the M40, so criminals could easily dump a dog here. They can’t have realised Katie was 11-years-old when they took her.

“I’ve been walking around the perimeter of Stratford in the hope of seeing her, she’s a farm dog so there’s also the chance she might have ventured out to one of the farms nearby as that’s the kind of environment she’s used to. There are hardly any stray dogs in Stratford so I’m hoping that people will notice if they come across a little dog that looks like it may have been dumped.

If you spot a dog which matches Katie’s description call Stratford Police on 01789 444513.