£200 reward for missing dog
The owner of a dog which went missing in north Sutherland a fortnight ago is offering a £200 reward for its safe return.
Richard Shepherd is concerned about the well being of Archie, an energetic three-year-old English Setter.
The dog broke free from kennels in Tongue and disappeared on 10th October.
There have been a couple of sightings of him since and he returned to the kennels on one occasion only to vanish again.
Archie belongs to Mr Shepherd, an energy analyst who moved to Garmouth, Moray, six years ago after previously living at Clachtoll, near Lochinver.
However, since the beginning of the month, the dog has been under the care of Ann Duncan who runs an animal refuge in Tongue.
Mr Shepherd explained that he had become seriously ill and as a result was unable to look after Archie and his four other dogs.
He said: "I had to find a solution for my dogs after I became ill. I had to find a safe place for them rather than put them down."
He was very grateful when Ann agreed to take on Archie and the other pets.
Mr Shepherd said: "Ann is a very brave woman. She takes in dogs that no-one can deal with. Some of the dogs she cares for have been in war zones. She has a knack with them and can turn a badly behaved dog into a well behaved dog."
Mr Shepherd’s dogs were re-located to Tongue at the beginning of October.
After Archie went missing, he and his son, Joules, travelled to north Sutherland and conducted an extensive and exhaustive search without success.
"We went round pretty much everywhere from west of the Kyle of Tongue and the next kyle up and then down south to Altnaharra," he said.
"We put up flyers and also left them in local shops, the police station and hotels all the way from Altnaharra to Bettyhill. People were all very kind.
"There were a couple of sightings a week ago, most recently in Bettyhill but nothing during the last week."
Mr Shepherd said Archie was wearing a collar with a label bearing contact details.
He has no concerns about the dog’s ability to survive but is worried that he could have come got into trouble.
"It’s a wonderful, big country and a Archie is a healthy, fit and very strong dog, but he could have gone over a cliff." he said.
"There is also the problem of game disturbance. He would not chase sheep but he is a bird dog and would chase ducks, geese, pheasants and everything else that flies.
"Down here in Moray where there is more arable country, people get quite angry about dogs that get out but in north Sutherland everyone has been very kind and considerate."
Anyone with any information about Archie is asked to contact Mr Shepherd on 01343 870161 or Ann Duncan on 01847 611343.