An East Lothian woman has launched a desperate appeal to be reunited with her dog after he went missing while she was on holiday. Amy Hamilton, 28, had been abroad when she received the "worst phone call" to tell her that her five-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Benji, had disappeared while out on a walk.
A local dog walker for the last seven years, Amy told Edinburgh Live she regularly walked the route with Benji through John Muir Park in Dunbar, and that he knew exactly where he was. However, a fan of "having a nosey down rabbit holes", she shared that while her mum had been taking a group of dogs out, he had gone for a wander and on this occasion, failed to return.
Amy said: "They were out on Thursday at around 9.30am. I was actually on holiday so he was staying with my mum and was out on a walk with her, she works for my business and there were six dogs out in total, mine, hers and four customers'.
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"He's a classic wee terrier and always likes to have a nosey down rabbit holes but he always comes back, we've been walking the same route twice a day every day for years so he knows it extremely well. But this time he didn't come back and we think what might have happened is that he's gone too far down one of the holes and got stuck.
"We've tried using drones, we've had scent dogs try and track him, we even did a sweep where around 60 of us walked the route to try and find him. The support has been amazing, I think my original Facebook post had around 20,000 shares but so far we've had no sightings."
Looking after Benji for the last three and a half years, Amy shared that he had gone through a rough experience after his previous owner took him into be neutered.
Being his dog walker at the time, the 28-year-old had saved Benji from being put down, with the pair being inseparable ever since.
Amy added: "He was originally a customers dog but when they took him to get neutered he actually died on the table and thankfully the vets managed to bring him back to life.
"The owner after wanted to rehome him as they said they thought he had brain damage, and he was taken in by someone else but after a week they weren't happy with him, and it ended up with Benji being booked into be euthanised.
"I couldn't let that happen and managed to get some legal paperwork to have them sign him over to me and eventually they agreed but it was literally signed two hours before he was supposed to be put down, so he really has had some story, and he's so well loved in the area."
Now six days on from his disappearance, Amy and her family shared how they have been exhausting all options to try and locate their beloved pooch.
With hopes that he is still in the John Muir Park area, they have asked anyone with any information to get in touch with them as soon as possible to end the nightmare ordeal.
Amy said: "I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, you can't help think the worst, but I'm really trying to stay positive and I've had so much help it's been amazing.
"It was the worst phone call to get while on holiday, we actually tried to change our flights and come back early but we couldn't, so I got in at 4am this morning to Edinburgh Airport and then I drove straight from there to the beach to try and look for him.
"I've been a dog walker for seven years and I've never had anything like this happen and of course it does when I'm away, my mum felt so guilty and of course it's not her fault at all, both my parents have done so much in trying to find him.
"We think he's still in the area from what the scent dogs have said, so we're trying to set up some cameras and leave some things with our scent out to try and get a glimpse of him."
If you have seen Benji or have any information, you can get in touch with Amy at 07702454267 or on Facebook at Bark in the Park.
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