Thief takes the car... and the dogs

Angela Lewis with her pets' empty basket. She calls Bella and Dexter 'the kids'. Photo / Sarah Ivey, Supplied

A woman whose car was stolen with her two dogs inside is appealing to the public for help.

Angela Lewis' black Audi A4 was stolen from a Remuera street on Monday night with a pair of Manchester terriers sitting in the back seat.

After walking the dogs, the designer parked in Ngapuhi Rd and left her car unattended for 45 minutes while she and her partner visited her brother.

"We went inside, as per normal. We came out at about 8.45, and there was no sign of the car. No dogs, and no car."

She says the thief would not have noticed Bella, 5, or Dexter, 2, because they were used to travelling in the car and were "quiet as mice".

"The dogs were sitting in the back of the car with the rugs around them and no one would've seen them because we pull the blinds over them. We take them everywhere."

After searching around the eastern and southern suburbs on Monday night, Ms Lewis and her family went "viral".

"We contacted any dog site we could find, there's been lots of Facebooking, we've sent out flyers to our email lists and networks and asked them to pass them on."

She also contacted a clairvoyant, who told her to check "empty rugby fields and places that are a bit run down".

Over the next 24 hours her family put in calls to the police, taxi drivers, tow-truck drivers and vets, as well as going out in cars to scour the wider Auckland region.

"My daughters aren't at home so we call them [the dogs] the kids. We are concerned for the car obviously, but the dogs are our main worry."

The pair follow her everywhere, she says, and love to watch Animal Planet on television.

Ms Lewis imported Bella from Sydney. Dexter, who was hand-raised by the family, is one of Bella's pups.

Ms Lewis hopes someone will recognise the dogs because of their distinctive appearance and rare breed.

The pair have microchips, weigh close to 8kg each and look like miniature Dobermanns, with black and tan markings.

They were wearing silver choker chains.

"We are really constantly in angst over the safety of the dogs and what they might be going through. We are hoping like mad that the dogs will be found. That someone, somewhere, will see these distinctive animals and recognise them.

"There's a lot of dog lovers out there and we really are appealing to everyone."

Ms Lewis is offering a reward for any information on the dogs or the car that leads to the safe recovery of Bella and Dexter.

Contact newsdesk@nzherald.co.nz if you have any information.