Instagram celebrity Cooper the miniature dachshund has gone missing and there's a $2000 reward for his safe return. Photo / Instagram
Instagram celebrity Cooper the miniature dachshund has gone missing and there's a $2000 reward for his safe return. Photo / Instagram
An Instagram celebrity sausage dog has gone missing from his home in the hills above Te Kuiti, prompting his desperate owners to post a $2000 reward for his safe return.
Cooper the short-haired miniature dachshund, who has 16,800 followers on his Instagram page, disappeared during a thunderstorm on the night of May 30.
His owners Ben, 33 and Emily Scott, 30, who own the 700ha King Country farm where Cooper lives with Ralph, a long-haired black and tan dachshund, have searched everywhere for their fur baby.
"He was last seen on our farm on Mangarino Rd," Emily posted. "He was wearing his tracking collar but it seems to be out of range and will have run out of battery by now."
The couple, who also run Waitomo Hilltop Glamping, have searched all over the farm, on neighbouring properties and surrounding streets, to no avail.
"We've been looking ever since. We miss him terribly."
Cooper the sausage dog went missing after panicking during a thunderstorm and running away from his owners' King Country farm. Photo / Instagram
Emily said it's the first time Cooper has never come home after more than a night. She was worried that because Ralph made it home that Cooper might have gone down a rabbit hole.
The 3-year-old red coloured doggie likes to chase rabbits and possums and at 6kg can fit down some burrows.
"Hopefully he's not in a rabbit hole because it's been a while now so that wouldn't be good."
She said 2-year-old Ralph was heartbroken.
"It's just so unusual that they would not be together. They are glued at the hip. Ralph has never been alone. He's really sad and just moping around the house."
Emily is hopeful Cooper, who is microchipped, has been picked up by a kind resident who isn't aware of how to return the dog or that he's someone's much-loved pet.
"He is really friendly. He always comes and meets the [glamping] guests and is very used to running up to strangers.
"I'm kind of hoping someone's found him and he's just at someone's house being looked after. Or that someone's taken him because then there's a chance of getting him back. If not then the outlook is not so good."
Cooper has a collar but it sometimes falls off. Emily does not believe anyone would have taken Cooper for financial gain even though a miniature Dachshund puppy costs upwards of $3500.
The $2000 reward, which includes $1000 donated by a concerned family friend, is an incentive to have Cooper returned.
Cooper's Instagram page My Little Sausage shows how much the pooch is adored by his family.
Photos of him as part of the couple's engagement and wedding days, with their 11-month-old daughter Willow, in costumes, at the beach, in the back of the ute, on the farm and with mate Ralph, attest to their love for the pet.
