27 January 2024 , 08:08
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A distraught family has been targeted by a sick troll who claimed their missing dog was alive and being abused.
Seven-month-old Dachshund Milo was out with a dog walker at around 11am on December 8 and ran away after hearing a loud "gunshot" noise near Woodland woods East Lothian, Scotland. The dog has been missing since.
Owners Nikki and Ciaran, who live with their two children in Pencaitland, are desperate to find Milo and hope he will return home soon. The family said they have received help from locals as they continue searching for their dog, but this week they said a prankster called them making claims about their missing pet, which compounded their sense of loss.
Milo ran away after hearing 'gunshot' noise during a walk on December 8 (Supplied)Nikki said her kids are the ones suffering the most since Milo - that she described as "a good, friendly puppy who adored his family" disappeared. She told Edinburgh Live: "Milo was out walking with the dog walker at Woodhall picnic site in Ormiston when he heard gunshots and ran off, he's not been seen since.
"We are totally heartbroken as are our children who are aged six and eight. We wake up most days with hope we will get a phone call or message to say someone had our boy and if someone has took him we would love for him to be returned and no questions asked. We just want him home.
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"Milo was five months old when he went missing. He will now be coming up to seven months old. He was such a good, friendly puppy who adored his family so much. He loved the kids to bits."
On Wednesday, Nikki and Ciaran were left "disappointed and upset" after they received a prank call saying that Milo had been spotted. After a back-and-forth of messages, Ciaran soon realised that the person who had contacted them was lying about their sighting.
The upset family was targeted by a prankster on Wednesday (Supplied)He wrote on social media: "Does anyone recognise this number? Sounded like a teenage girl. They phoned me to say that they had spotted Milo in Ormiston. Unfortunately, my wife and I aren't in the country or else I would have just went along straight away.
"Before I phoned a family member to ask them to go along, I asked if they could maybe get a photo of him. Clearly judging by the photos they sent, their supposed 'sighting' was one of our missing dog posters.
"While it is disappointing and upsetting getting a prank call to tell us our dog has been spotted after almost seven weeks of being missing, what is more disgusting is when I pulled the person up about the photo I was told to f*** off and that my dog has probably been r****.
"I am not fussed for knowing the name of the person responsible but would like to think that if anyone recognises this number as their child's then they will address this with them."
The East Lothian family are desperate to be reunited with their dog. Nikki said: "Milo has a distinctive bald patch on his right hand side where his whiskers are and has a white line of hair down his chest."