By Danielle Kutchel
A Cranbourne East family is desperately searching for their lost dog which went missing more than two weeks ago.
Eric the dalmatian was last seen at the family’s home on the afternoon of Sunday 8 August.
The family believes he was spooked by loud noises and managed to open the door to escape.
Owner Amanda Brown described him as a “gentle giant” and said the whole family is distraught.
Adding to their heartache is the close bond Eric shares with Amanda’s daughter, Emma, who has autism and tourettes.
Eric is an untrained support dog for Emma and helps calm her tics and anxiety.
Since he went missing, Amanda said Emma has struggled to eat and sleep and has disengaged from school.
“My daughter is beside herself, I’ve never seen her this upset,” Amanda said.
She has set up a Facebook group, Help Find Eric the Dalmatian, to galvanise public support in the search and to keep track of sightings.
There was an unconfirmed sighting of Eric around Ramlegh Park Primary School on the day he went missing, however he hasn’t been spotted since.
Amanda has turned to a pet psychic to try and find some leads on Eric, and was told he is not far away – around five to seven kilometres east to north east of the family home in Cranbourne East.
The psychic also said Eric had been sheltering on a farm with cows and horses and is scared of the noise the animals make.
He is said to be near farm machinery that is not used daily, and is scared to approach people.
According to the psychic, Eric is in a rural area without many people or roads and doesn’t know how to get home.
Amanda said she is feeling confident now that they have an area to focus the search on, and is sure that Eric is still alive.
“I think he’s just lost and can’t find a way home,” she said.
She’s been blown away by the community’s reaction to her pleas for help, with hundreds of people joining the Facebook group and pledging to look for Eric.
“It’s hard to describe how good it feels. It’s really heart-warming to think people love him as much as we do,” she said.
Eric does not bark so he won’t try to attract attention, but he does respond to his name when called.
The 11-year-old dalmatian has a distinctive diagonal line of spots that lead from the top of his head to the corner of his eye. His spots are brown.
Anyone around Cranbourne East, Clyde, Clyde North and Officer South is urged to keep an eye out for Eric and to contact Amanda on 0400 500 545 if they find him.
