A&E doctor appeals for help to find his missing dog Bertie

Husband and wife Dr Zeki Atesli and Siobhan Dodd, from Rottingdean, are heartbroken after 5-year-old Bertie, who was “the centre of their life”, went missing on April 22.

Dr Atelie works as an A&E consultant at Eastbourne General hospital.

Mrs Dodd said: “We’ve hardly slept or hardly eat, everything we’re doing is about Bertie.

“It’s the worst kind of heartache.

“My husband has been returning to the village after shifts to go look for him.”

Bertie, who is beige and not wearing a collar, was last seen in Telscombe Village on April 22 at about 3pm.

Read more on this story: Cockapoo Bertie missing from Rottingdean as desperate search is launched

He had been staying at a family friend’s house in Peacehaven when he ran out the door after being opened for a postman.

Mrs Dodd said: “One of the great things about having a dog is the welcome you get when you come home.

“Since he was a puppy, he has been the centre of our lives.

“He’s never been a dog left for any longer than a couple of hours and has only known love.”

The community has rallied around the couple, scouring the area, sometimes until five in the morning, to find the beloved pooch.

Mrs Dodd said: “Initially I thought I couldn’t live through the day, it was all too much.

“Looking for him out there is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“But the support has been knockout, the number of people who have been looking – droves of people.

“The support is genuinely overwhelming, which makes it all the more frustrating that there are no sightings, but we’re holding our nerve. “

Bertie is cautious around people.

Those who think they might have spotted him should call 07915 063 272 or 07988 287 891.

Do not call out his name or approach him.

Mrs Dodd said: “It’s a horrible feeling, trying to get to him knowing he’s trying to get you.”

The family said their spirits were lifted on Wednesday after reading The Argus’s report on Maya and Rye, who returned to their family in Coombes after seven weeks.

Dragana Standing, 49, said her children were delighted and she thanked The Argus for help in the campaign to trace the beloved brindle lurchers.

Their devastation turned to delight after a young boy out on his bike found the dogs.

Ms Standing said they rushed to collect them, adding: “We were all over the moon, laughing and crying at the same time in the car.

“Everybody was so happy, I wanted to hug the young boy and his dad but I couldn’t because of the virus. I’m still really emotional.”