Missing Southland dogs: 'They are family ... we're not giving up on them'

Alan and Lousia's dogs went missing from their home on the Otago Peninsula last October. Photo / Supplied

It's been nine months since Dice and Weed went missing - but their owners haven't stopped scouring the South Island for their beloved pets.

Alan Funnell and Louisa Andrew's dogs 9-year-old black poodle Dice and 3-year-old fox terrier Weed disappeared from their home on the Otago Peninsula on October 17 last year.

Funnell says the couple won't stop looking for the dogs until they find them.

He is out on the road today on a five day "mission" searching Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island and putting up signs.

He says he and Andrew have made between 350-400 signs and spent at least $20,000 searching for their missing pets.

"They're family. We're not giving up on them," says Funnell.

Weed, left, and Dice went missing from their home on the Otago Peninsula on October 17 last year. Photo / Supplied.

He tries to spend at least one weekend a month travelling the South Island, searching for the dogs.

Six weeks ago Funnell did a 10-day search trip circumnavigating the South Island.

The support from the public has been "brilliant" with people in the North Island erecting around 80 signs for the couple.

Signs for the missing dogs are now dotted across the country, from Kaitaia to Bluff.

A Givealittle page for the missing dogs is still ticking over with donations with 287 donors so far pumping $11,500 into the search fund.

"This has impacted us hugely. We've gone through lots of different emotions, from anger to loss. We always think we will get them back," he says.

Initially Funnell and Andrew thought the dogs could've been picked up by tourists, but now they think they are with residents living somewhere remote.

"We believe they are out there. We think the dogs are living remotely somewhere. We don't have any animosity anymore – we just want them back."

Louisa Andrew and Alan Funnell say they won't stop looking for their dogs Dice and Weed. Photo / Supplied

In an update to the Facebook page, Andrew described the "intense pain and grief" of losing the dogs.

"We have experienced the helplessness you feel, when day after day you hit a brick wall," she wrote.

"We have suffered the fatigue that comes with three or four hours of sleep a night. We have experienced judgment for the decisions we have made about how we conduct our search for Dice and Weed," the post continued.

"When I think about Dice and Weed now, I don't feel pain. I feel an overwhelming wave of love. I believe that wave will carry them home."