'I've never felt anything like it' - Edinburgh pet owner recalls moment his puppy vanished from his side in alleged theft

A man has spoken of the terrifying moment his five-month-old puppy vanished while he was out walking with her in what he believes to have been an attempted dog theft.

Seven, Scott Carlin's five-month-old puppy picture: Scott Carlin

Scott Carlin was taking his German Shorthaired Pointer called Seven out for a walk in Gilmerton when she suddenly disappeared from his side on Saturday, 3 October.

The Edinburgh resident contacted police immediately and reported his missing puppy, believing she had been stolen.

After about an hour of frantically searching for the young pup, Seven turned up whining at Scott’s front door.

Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, Scott recalls the moment his family pup vanished in what he claims to have been a dog theft before she managed to wriggle free and run home.

"I have never felt anything like it when she disappeared,” he said.

“I was out walking her near the Burdiehouse Valley area when I saw a guy fall off his bike and he wasn’t moving.

"I asked if he was okay but he didn’t answer or move. I asked again and he lay still. I though the might be unconscious, so I approached him.

"But by the time I helped the guy up the dog was gone.”

Looking back at the traumatic incident, Scott thinks the man on the floor was a distraction while thieves snatched his dog.

He reported seeing two other men acting suspiciously around him just before Seven disappeared.

"I can only assume she manage to wriggle free and escape from them while we were out searching,” he added.

"If you have ever tried to pick up a German Shorthaired Pointer you'll know how she did it.

"She is a very strong dog. Sometimes she refuses to get down from our bed and I need to lift her. If she doesn’t want to be lifted she struggles and it’s impossible to hold her.”

Scott said he is convinced Seven did not simply run home from where they were walking.

"Her recall is almost perfect, there’s no way she’d run away,” he said.

"And it took about an hour for her to get home from the time she went missing.

"If she just ran home directly from where she was, she would have been home in about ten mins.

"I just want to warn anyone walking their dogs here to be extra vigilant, especially if there’s someone who might be there to distract you.

“Luckily she is all well, apart from a hurt front paw, and she's a little spooked.”

Seven was named after Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager. Scott said she has a distinguishing mark on her chest that looks like a star fleet insignia.

A police spokesman said: "Police Scotland received a call around 2.50pm on Sunday, 4 October, 2020, relating to the report of a theft of a German short haired pointer dog from Braidburn Valley Park in Edinburgh.

"Officers responded, however were informed a short time later that the dog had returned to its home and its owner.”

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