£10k reward offered in search for lost dog
The most wide-scale investigation into a missing dog in the Midlands has led to a £10,000 reward being offered for information leading to the beloved pet.
The offer comes in the wake of former owner Debbie Spalton driving a 300-mile round trip across the region playing a video of her dog Kito to the public in the hope of finding him.
Specialist pet detectives have already been called in to find the Rhodesian ridgeback dog, who went missing from his former home in Rugeley in August 2010.
Now Debbie Spalton has gone to ground-breaking lengths to find her prized pooch, who would now be aged 11. She has put up a £10,000 reward and on Saturday she travelled round the region, in a so-called Digi van.
The van featured a video screen showing a montage of photos of Kito, and interviews with Debbie. It travelled across Derby, Stafford, Rugeley, Lichfield, and Walsall, before Wolverhampton and Tamworth.
Former West Midlands police officer Tom Watkins, founder of Animal Search UK, has led the hunt for Kito. He said: "Whilst most owners would settle for calling the local authority dog warden and Sellotaping some leaflets to lamp posts in their area, Debbie has gone a bit further than that to say the least.
As she now lives and works in Dubai her extensive inquiries are even more extraordinary." Mr Watkins said he has had no leads yet following the weekend appeal, but remains optimistic. Kito was adopted by Sian Froggatt nearly six years ago when his first owner, Debbie, had to relocate to the other side of the world for family and work reasons.
Since his disappearance from his home in Rugeley, Debbie has flown thousands of miles to co-ordinate searches. She has also recruited pet detectives from Animal Search UK. Anyone with information can ring 0800 4320 340 and quote case number 25423.
