Rosie missing once again

By Kath Gannaway
Rosie’s owners Dale Schwab and Kim Fry believe she has been stolen.
The Mail reported on an emotional reunion when six-month-old Rosie and her mate Knackers, a Rhodesian ridgeback pup, were reunited with their Woori Yallock family, which had all but given up hope of ever finding them again.
Police found the dogs cowering in a hole next to a riverbank eight days after Black Saturday and took them to Yea Veterinary Centre where they were treated for burns.
Ms Fry read of their discovery in the Mail and it was a tearful and joyous reunion when Dale, Kim and three-year-old Jacob Fry met up with them again at Yea.
Last week Ms Fry again contacted the Mail to say Rosie had gone missing.
She says she was away from the house for only a short time and doesn’t believe Rosie escaped.
Several notices for lost Staffies along the Warburton Highway added to their fear Rosie had been stolen.
“In our area five Staffies have gone missing,” Ms Fry said. “She is microchipped so if she had got out she would be easy to trace back if she was taken to a vet or animal refuge.”
Rosie, who has a distinctive kink in her tail, went missing nearly six weeks ago and there has been no sign of her. As they did in February the family has done all they can to find her.
Sally Miles, of Victorian Animal Aid in Coldstream, confirmed there had been a spate recently of Staffies going missing and not being found.
She said the breed had a reputation for escaping and was overrepresented in their impoundment figures.
But Ms Miles added that female Staffies were vulnerable to theft by backyard breeders because the breed made good family pets.
She also warned that Animal Aid was seeing signs of post-traumatic stress in animals that had been through the bushfires and were prone to separation anxiety.
She advised that owners of dogs that had been traumatised or displaced by the fires needed to be extra vigilant about securing their pets and to seek help to deal with anxiety.
Ms Fry said Jacob in particular was fretting for Rosie.
“We’re hoping someone might recognise her by her distinctive tail kink and call us,” she said. Ms Fry can be contacted on 0421 860 849.