An east Auckland woman is frantically searching for her beloved dog after he escaped from her home during a stressful police incident there on Thursday.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, lives near the intersection of Pakuranga Road and Glenmore Road in Pakuranga.
She wanted to take her dog Simba with her when she left the house on Thursday morning but police told her that officers present would make sure he was fine, so she left him in the backyard.
“I came back to house last night and he had jumped the fence,” she says.
“The police had come and they wanted me to leave the property. I told them I have a dog and he’s probably going to try to follow me.
“I thought I wouldn’t be that long, my dog would stay in the property, and I would come back and he’d still be here, but it took longer than expected.
“I said to the police ‘my dog is very attached to me, I never leave him alone and we’re always together’.
“They told me the dog would be fine. The officers would look after the dog or make sure he would be fine, but that didn’t happen.
“I think he jumped the fence not long after I left the property.”
The woman arranged for a relative to go to her home to collect Simba, thinking he was still there, but when they arrived they were told by police the dog had jumped the fence.
“They didn’t do anything about it,” his distraught owner says.
“I said ‘you told me you would make sure the dog would be okay’.
“I was like, ‘it’s a busy road, what if he ran onto the road and caused an accident – then you’re going to have a pile up on Pakuranga Road’.
“I was really disappointed they didn’t notify me [that he had escaped from the property].”
The woman says she returned to her home at about 6pm on Thursday as the police were leaving.
“I said, ‘my dog is now missing. I told you this would happen if you didn’t make sure he was okay’.
“The officer just looked at me and then started talking to the other officer about stuff that was going on in their office.”
Since Simba escaped she’s shared photos of him on social media and appealed for any sightings of him or information on his whereabouts.
“I’ve been very concerned for my dog. I’ve been posting and I’ve been doing what I can to go out and look for him.
“I feel terrible that I put him in this situation. I should have taken him with me, but I was stressed.
“Poor Simba. He’s probably wondered where I’ve gone and he’s looking for me.
“I haven’t heard of any sightings of him so I’m very concerned for his welfare.”
The woman says Simba is a pitbull-cross and he’s about 16 months old. He’s also microchipped.
He’s friendly and very food-driven but she’s unsure if he would go to stranger if called.
“He’s been out all night. He’s anxious and stressed and I don’t know how he’s going to react.
“He’s friendly but he’s lost and doesn’t know what’s going on.
“If someone called his name I would hope he would go toward them or they could lure him with food until I could get there.
“I have my phone on me all the time and I’m constantly checking Facebook.”
People who have seen Simba or who know where he is should text 022 166 5730.
Police have been contacted for comment.
