The owners of a dog that has been missing for a fortnight in the fields on the edge of Bristol have thanked the hundreds of people who are looking for him, and said they have not given up hope.
Barney the labradoodle was at work with his owner Chris LeVaillant, who runs the Shell garage and Budgens Store on the A38 in Winford, just south of Bristol, when he bolted and ran off after being spooked by Chris’s altercation with a shoplifter, at around 4pm on Wednesday, December 14.
Barney ran off down the A38 towards Bristol and, as it was getting dark, could not find his way back to the garage. Since then, the family have put their life on hold in the search for the AWOL pooch.
Read next: Family desperate to get lost dog Barney home for Christmas after he bolted on A38
A Facebook page set up by daughter-in-law Jasmine Williams has almost 1,000 people following the search for Barney, and hundreds of people shared Bristol Live’s story about him in the days before Christmas last week.
The most recent possible sighting of Barney came late on Boxing Day afternoon, when a woman saw a dog matching his description running along a hedge in a field just south of the South Bristol Link Road as it nears the A370 roundabout junction with the Long Ashton bypass.
The fields and terrain around there are heavily wooded, with main roads and a railway line, and Mr LeVaillant told Bristol Live he has been hugely encouraged by the awareness people have to keep looking out for Barney. “It just shows how wonderful people are,” he said. “I was out there this morning on the lanes around Long Ashton and stopped a couple of ladies on horseback and they immediately said ‘oh this is about Barney’, so it’s just great that everyone knows.
“We’ve had some spurious sightings which turned out to be other dogs, but the one on Monday is the most recent where it’s a possible. The lady who saw this dog was from Clevedon and was absolutely lovely. She phoned us and stayed there to wait while we got there, so she could tell us exactly what she saw and where. She was there for more than an hour. She saw a dog that could well have been Barney, running along a hedge there,” he added.
The family have employed professional dog searchers, and are urging people to keep an eye out while on their regular walks in the area, but not to approach Barney, as it may spook him even more - but to immediately report a sighting and, if possible, try to get a photo.
Posters and leaflets have been printed up and are being distributed in the Long Ashton, Dundry, Yanley, Highridge and WInford area. “Everyone we speak to has heard about Barney,” said Chris.
“But it’s a needle in a haystack job. It’s the not knowing what’s happened to him or where he is that’s the worst part. If he’s been knocked over and killed and is just lying there somewhere, you’d have thought someone or their dog would have found him.
"If someone has taken him in and not known where he came from, then that’s a possibility. The first few nights he was out, it was bitterly cold, so we just don’t know. At this stage, he’s either still out there, someone has nabbed him or he’s had his chips - and I think we’d rather know and find him dead than never know what happened,” he said.
Chris had taken him to work at the garage, on the busy A38 between Bristol and Bristol Airport, but Barney had never been walked or explored the local area - the family live in Bishop Sutton, near Chew Lake around eight miles away.
“We’ve still got hope,” said Chris. “Everyone knows about him now. If he’s out there, we will hopefully find him soon.”
- If anyone sees Barney, has seen him or can help, please visit the 'Let's Get Barney Home' Facebook page here, or contact 07799622707.
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