Owner offers $1k for return of beloved family pet

I WANT MY POM: Victoria Harrison, 8, holds the toys that her family's stolen pomeranian dog Lucy loved to play with. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

A $1000 reward is being offered for the return of one of two dogs that vanished in separate incidents on the same Bay road.

Lucy the pomeranian vanished from its McLaren Falls Rd home on February 3 and owner Angela Harrison has launched a major search for it - including offering a $1000 reward for information that leads to its recovery.

But in a twist, Cynthia Murray's pomeranian/bichon-cross went missing from a property 4km from Ms Harrison's - two days after Lucy disappeared.

Ms Harrison told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend her two children were lost without their dog.

"They've been searching, we've put out thousands of flyers and gone door-knocking, but nothing," Ms Harrison said. "Someone must have picked her up and she's just gone."

Since announcing the $1000 reward she had received a few sightings of Lucy but nothing more. She had been told Lucy could have been targeted because of its breed, which was "highly sought after".

"People say you can replace her but you can't. She's part of the family. "She was always by your side. When I sat down she was always on my lap.

"She's very friendly. She loved cars and loved travelling in cars, which is probably a downfall."

Ms Harrison said her father would often come over to keep Lucy company when she had to work.

"We just want her home. Her toys are still here."

Meanwhile, Ms Murray said her partner had been visiting a friend with their dog, Fluffy, when the pomeranian bichon cross "vanished".

"My partner was working on a motor that was there and Fluffy was just around their feet ... five minutes later they realised 'where is he'?"

Ms Murray said they did not know if the dog had chased a rabbit and got lost, or walked out to the main road and was taken. "But it's not in his nature to go off like that."

Ms Murray said Fluffy was clingy and had visited people's properties before with no problem, which made the sudden disappearance more concerning.

"He's never ventured far from us," she said. "He is like one of our kids, and is well loved and missed. He has the cutest personality, very loyal and very protective of us, his family.

"It would be nice to know what happened. Even if a neighbour accidentally shot him or ran him over, it would be nice to put our minds at peace."

Ms Murray said 2-year-old Fluffy weighed only 2.5kg and was often mistaken for a puppy.

"We have other dogs and they are our dogs but this particular dog, he's just one of a kind," she said.