'Heartbroken' family from Ivy Chimneys Road, Epping offers reward for safe return of missing dog Bob

Laura Waters, 39, of Ivy Chimneys Road, Epping, says it is “totally out of character” for her pet not to return home after going for his nightly run.

Her beagle Bob went missing from a field behind the family home on the evening of Friday June 30 and she believes he was stolen.

While all the family have been affected by his disappearance, Ms Waters said her 11-year-old nephew Edward has been taking the news particularly hard.

She said: “When my nephew comes home from school he asks if Bob is back and he gets upset if there is no news. It is heart-breaking.

“All I want to know is that he is safe and well and if someone has gotten attached to him and taken him in we will still let them see him. I just want my dog back.

“As time has gone on we have accepted that he has been stolen.

“It’s hard to talk about it. It was devastating.”

Bob was adopted by Ms Waters and her family three years ago from the RSPCA after being rescued from an abusive home. The four-year-old is white with black and brown markings.

After he failed to return home, Ms Waters and her family spent all night searching for him but could not find any clue as to where he had gone.

She said nothing seemed unusual in the field that night apart from a “suspicious looking” man and woman who told her they had not seen Bob.

She said: “It was just getting dark when I left him off for a run.

“He went out there every night for years and would always come back through the fields. It was always the same route.

“We were all very upset when he didn’t come home and we still are.

“We were out until the early hours of the morning looking for him until it was almost bright.

“I believe that someone local has taken him.”

The family have contacted missing pets groups and a microchip company to register Bob as missing and put up posters in the area.

Because there is no evidence Bob was taken by someone, police are not treating it as a theft.

Ms Waters works as a full-time carer for her father who suffered a stroke a few years ago and her two sisters who have learning difficulties.

She added: “It’s sad to accept that he is not here and the house feels strange without him.

“We just all miss his presence. He slept near me every night. I was quite attached to him.

“He is part of the family. He is like my little boy.”

Due to the abuse he suffered in his past, Bob is afraid to approach strange men.

The Waters family are offering a reward for anyone with information about Bob. 

Anyone with information is asked to email laura.ocallaghan@london.newsquest.co.uk or call 07824530130.