By CASEY NEILL
A LIFE-SAVING, epileptic dalmatian is missing from her Springvale South home.
Kath Cushen said her husband took nine-year-old Victoria – known as Vicki – for a stroll in parkland near Westall and Heatherton roads about 10.30pm on Saturday 11 July.
“She never runs away. He called her and called her and she just didn’t come back,” she said.
“We wandered the streets until midnight.
“We’ve been in touch with every vet in the area. We’ve made flyers.
“We’ve called pounds, animal protection …
“I just think somebody’s stolen her.”
Vicki suffers from epilepsy and is now four days without her medication.
“I’ve got another dog here, she’s fretting,” Ms Cushen said.
“This dog saved my mother’s life.
“My mother is in her nineties and had a fall in the backyard.
“I was working at Springers Leisure Centre at the time.
“Vicki alerted the neighbours.
“The only reason that they found her was that Vicki was barking.
“She kept running to the fence. The neighbour looked over and saw my mother on the ground.
“My mother couldn’t have got up.”
Vicki is microchipped and desexed, wears a red collar with her name and phone number on a clasp and has a kink in her tail.
She got her name because the first spots that appeared on her forehead looked like the Southern Cross.
“She’s a beautiful girl,” Ms Cushen said.
“We’re just devastated. It’s really distressing,” she said.
Ms Cushen is offering a $50 reward for her safe return.
“We thank the people that have been so helpful, particularly the lady at the Westall Primary School who printed a notice for every child at the school.”
