Desperate search for missing dog centres on Burgess Hill

Five-year-old beloved cockapoo Bertie disappeared from Telscombe on April 22 and his worried owners - A&E doctor Dr Zeki Atesli and his wife Siobhan Dodds - have been searching for him ever since.

Dr Atesli, who has been working on the frontline at Eastbourne General Hospital since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, has been going out to look for Bertie - driving for miles - straight from gruelling 12-hour shifts in A&E.

Mrs Dodds said: “We are heartbroken. It’s like a member of our family has gone missing. It’s every dog owner’s worst nightmare.”

This week the search centred on Burgess Hill after a woman reported seeing a dog that looked like Bertie in the Southway area of the town.

“We have a feeling it might be him,” said Mrs Dodds. “It’s the only real sighting.”

Little Bertie first disappeared while he was having his fur clipped at a friend’s house in Telscombe when a postman knocked at the door and he ran out, not wearing his collar.

Since then, said Mrs Dodds, her husband had been desperately searching for Bertie “before work, after work, on his days off. He’s had no time to relax. We have been looking for him night and day.”

The couple, who live in Rottingdean, say they have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have offered to help in their search.

“The kindness has been unbelievable,” said Mrs Dodds. “Two nurses at my husband’s work were so upset they took an entire week off to go and look for Bertie themselves.”

Bertie, who is microchipped, is described as timid and likely to run away if approached.

Anyone who sees Bertie is asked to call 07915 063272 or 07988 287891.

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