A dog which jumped out of a car window in the middle of a bridge in torrential rain is still missing two weeks later. Mouser, a one-year-old Jack Russell terrier cross was in a car being driven over the Severn Bridge when he leapt out of the open window.
But with traffic bumper to bumper there was nowhere for owner Louise Boss to stop until some distance away. And by the time she could pull over she was unable to find her beloved pet, reports Bristol Live.
Louise, from Wales, said she has been unable to rest since he vanished on November 8 and is hoping someone will be able to help her find him. She told how she had been visiting a friend in Bristol with her two dogs and was travelling back to her home in Wales across the Prince of Wales Bridge at about 6.30pm when Mouser disappeared.
She was travelling in "torrential rain" and, with the closure of the bridge on the A48, traffic was "bumper to bumper". She said: "I got on the bridge and both of my dogs were in the car.
"Mouser was trying to get in the front, so I told him to stay in the back and they had undone the window. I heard a noise and I assumed that Mouser had jumped into the back, but he hadn't, he had jumped out of the window, but I didn't know at the time, so I did the window back up and called his name, but he was very quiet."
Louise said that, by the time she had realised just what had happened, there was nowhere safe to pull over which meant by the time she could do so and check the back of her car, she was miles away. "I was absolutely hysterical," she said, "I phoned the police straight away and there's been no sighting, nobody has seen or heard of anything since."
Since then, Louise and her family have been out daily, putting up posters. They have also recruited the help of agencies like Dog Lost to help find Mouser.
One witness said they saw him running towards the Bristol side of the bridge. Louise also said that there had been later sightings claiming Mouser had been put into a white car, though she says there have been no more details on this due to the visibility being so low.
She said: "It was hard to tell the number plate of the car in front of you, let alone anything else. Since that day we have been searching high and low, but I'm terrified someone has picked him up and has chosen not to come forward."
Louise has also been worried that people may have thought she had left Mouser on the bridge on purpose or abandoned him. She said: "It must have looked like I threw the dog out of the window and drove off, but that's not how it was.
"He's desperately loved and he's desperately needed back home. We've contacted all the RSPCA centres, vets, dog homes, dog wardens, even the railway lines and nothing.
"Some people think he's hiding up somewhere, others think he's been picked up, but I think he would have come out of hiding now and someone would have seen him, so I truly think someone has him. He's wearing a red and black collar with his name and my number on it and he's microchipped, so there's no excuse at all.
"It makes me extremely worried because I wonder what the intentions are of the people that may have him. Have they passed him on to someone else? He's such a good looking dog and a great character and he's a male so your brain takes you in all directions."
Louise said that she's aware some people may comment on why the dogs weren't strapped into the back of the car, however she says that she has been witness to dogs in accidents where their straps have meant the dogs are "just left hanging". She also added that she usually locks the windows of her vehicle, however had recently cleaned her car and had forgotten to re-lock them.
She went on to say: "I haven't rested since. I can't rest. I won't be able to until he's found. I just want him home."
If you think you may have seen Mouser, or know where he might be, you can call Louise on 07541651115 or 07572208940. There is a small reward for anyone who brings him home.
