Owner enlists help of clairvoyants to track down her missing dog

Today I heard that incidents of stolen dogs are at their highest in seven years. I was reminded of this story which began when I was working in Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. With most stories you go back to the person involved to see if there is any development to take things forward and this was no different. I really felt sorry for Margaret because she had lost a much loved member of her family – Astrid the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was taken by thieves. She tried everything to get her back including hiring psychics and setting up a website. I left Scunthorpe in 2005 and am not sure if her beloved pet was ever returned but, as the website no longer exists, I am guessing not. Apologies for the quality of the pics but they were taken direct from the scans of the actual cuttings.

SOME people might have given up looking a long time ago, but one North Lincolnshire woman is so determined to find her missing dog she has even looked to clairvoyants to provide the answers.

Astrid, a much-loved eight-year-old family pooch, disappeared from Margaret Nawrockyi’s Barnetby home just over a year ago, and such is her owner’s wish to find her she has spent £600 trying to track her down.

Since the beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel vanished from the garden, Mrs Nawrockyi has placed adverts and put up posters, but her desperate search has proved fruitless and she has turned to clairvoyants for help.

Astrid is chestnut and white in colour and has brown eyes. She stands about two-feet tall and has also been microchipped so should be easy to identify.

Mrs Nawrockyi said Astrid has a medical condition, brought on through her last litter of puppies, and needs to eat a special prescription diet.

“Despite my best efforts she is still missing. I have put up posters, and written to vets from Bridlington to Skegness,” she said.

“I have also taken out advertising space in various publications and local newsletters. I even consulted two clairvoyants who both felt Astrid was in the Scunthorpe area.”

The first clairvoyant Mrs Nawrockyi contacted was through a lost dogs’ website. The medium was called Dominic and he told the bereft owner he felt Astrid was in a rural area ‘waiting to be found’.

Jenna Jones, a Brigg-based psychic, was the second one consulted. Mrs Nawrockyi said: “She categorically insisted Astrid was not dead and said she’s not far away from me.”

The clairvoyant said she seemed to think Astrid was in the Scunthorpe or Brigg area.

Mrs Nawrockyi said: “At the end of the day I haven’t found her. You go through the whole gamut of emotions.

“I’ve been that desperate to find her, I’ll try anything. I think I’m being realistic and I do want her back. If somebody’s got her, I want them to know I desperately want her back.”

Clairvoyant Jenna Jones, who is based at the Centre of Well Being, College Yard, Brigg, said: “I believe the dog is still alive and still in this area.

“I still stand by that. Astrid is definitely not dead, somebody has definitely got her and she is still not far away.”

Mrs Nawrockyi added her search had cost about £600 and there is a helpful website dedicated to reuniting lost dogs with their owners.

“They have collated information about dog theft nationwide and by keeping the subject in the public eye they have had considerable success in reuniting a number of dogs with their owners.” she said.

According to the site a total 50,000 dogs went missing last year.

Mrs Nawrockyi stressed the importance of Astrid’s return because of the animal’s medical condition. She said her pet had developed an inflammation of the pancreas after giving birth to her last litter.

• People who want to know more can visit http://www.doglost.co.uk

From the Scunthorpe Telegraph on Friday, March 12, 2004.

Spaniel search goes global

Woman turns to 21st-century technology to find missing pet dog

A NEW Barnetby woman is using 21st-century technology to widen the search for her lost dog.

Astrid, a seven-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, went missing from her home more than a year ago – and her owner Margaret Nawrockyi has spent hundreds of pounds trying to find her but all has been to no avail.

She has already called on the Telegraph for help and asked neighbours, put up posters, and even contacted clairvoyants, but with no success.

And now, in her determination to track down her four-legged friend, Mrs Nawrockyi has set up a new website to help the search.

The site contains pictures of Astrid taken from various angles to help with identification, a description of what she looks like, and contact details for people with any information.

Mrs Nawrockyi said she was inspired to set up the website after contacting other sites where she had posted details about Astrid.

She said: “I asked if they could help and I was amazed how quickly they came back to me and said we can do something straight away.

“I was talking to my son, Nick, and he said Let’s get on with it’. And that’s actually what we did, he’s organised it all. He’s very computer literate and it’s surprisingly easy to do.”

Nick (18) designed the website using a software package called Dreamweaver. He is studying Classics at Durham University, but took time out to design the site during his Easter break.

He said the program was fairly straightforward.

“It was fairly easy, but some bits were quite complicated. It was the first one I had done and I managed it.” he said.

The site costs £30 a year to upload onto the internet, and can be seen by surfers all over the world. There are links to the site from other sites which are trying to trace lost pets.

Mrs Nawrockyi said she had already started getting feedback from people who had visited the site.

“I’ve had contact from one or two people from Yorkshire and Derbyshire,” she said.

“You can put moving pictures on if you’ve got a video camera. I personally wanted to keep it simple, I didn’t want to bombard them with too much information.

“At the end of the day it’s worldwide, people can see it there. I am impressed with this so far and have got a lot of encouragement from people.”

Mrs Nawrockyi hopes to continue developing the site and wants to include a guestbook where visitors can leave messages for her

Astrid is chestnut and white in colour and has brown eyes. She stands 14 inches from the floor to the withers, the point between the shoulder blades, and has been spayed.

She has also been micro-chipped and should be easy to identify, but the little pooch has a medical condition and needs a prescription diet.

From the Scunthorpe Telegraph on Monday, May 10, 2004.