Community rally to find missing pooch thrown from vehicle in crash

Monday, 21 January 2019

Bubbles, a 2-year-old Chihuahua, was thrown from a car on Friday and has been missing since.

The grandson of a woman left in a coma after a serious crash is desperate to find his nan's beloved pooch, who was thrown from the car, before she wakes up.

Bubbles, a two-year-old chihuahua, was thrown from the vehicle Faye Emery was in during a head-on collision in Taupō on Friday.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Huka Falls Rd and the Thermal Explorer Highway in shortly after 5pm.

Grandson Aaron Marine is now doing his best to find Bubbles who has been missing since the crash.

'It's just amazing how many people have come on board to help,' Marine said.

'We really just want her found before Nan wakes up.'

Bubbles was in a vehicle with Emery, and Emery's two grandchildren, heading towards Turangi for a mini holiday when the crash occurred.

Emery owned a batch in Turangi and headed there from Auckland most weekends.

'She's only in Auckland for her treatments – she's a cancer patient,' he said.

Marine said his grandmother remained in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, while one of her grandson's was stable in a ward there after undergoing surgery.

Emery's other grandson was also in the hospital under assessment.

Marine said there had been a handful of sightings of Bubbles, but no one had been successful in catching her.

'She was seen running towards the Rock'n Ropes building on Friday after the crash and people have been out looking since then,' Marine said.

'On Saturday she was sighted again down at the Rock'n Ropes. People tried to approach her but she ran off from them.

'The latest update, she was seen running alongside the road just up from the crash scene.'

Marine set up the 'Help Find Bubbles' Facebook page as an easy way of keeping everyone updated.

'I noticed there was quite a lot of people searching for Bubbles and a lot of information was coming through,' he said.

'So I decided to create the page for people to post if they have any new information. It was just a way of keeping everything in one place.'

The page now has 280 members, with 50 people were out searching on Sunday alone. People have been searching on foot and drones have been in the air.

Marine has been using belongings of Emery, left around the crash scene area, in the hopes of luring Bubbles with her owner's scent.

The latest post on the Facebook page has asked for Bubbles to be left alone on Monday so as not to scare her too much, forcing her to flee further away.

Instead a dog trap would be put out on Monday night by a volunteer from CARE Taupō.

Rachel Lyons, Missing K9 Response Wellington NZ, has given advice for those wanting to help with the search.

'This wee girl sounds very scared because of what has happened, she is probably avoiding human contact,' she said.

'If you have a visual of Bubbles best thing to do is to sit or lie down making yourself as less threatening as possible, try not to make any eye contact, pretend to eat something, do not run after her, let her come to you, keep your voice low and calm.

'Do not call her by name - this can trigger a scared lost dog to run in the opposite direction, if she does come to you willingly please secure her.'

If anyone has any sightings of Bubbles or manages to catch her, please phone Marine on 022 471 1551.