Ink tribute to stay although dog still alive

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A woman who tattooed her dog's face and date of death on her forearm after it was hit by a car says she does not regret the ink, despite finding out the pup is alive and on the loose in Te Puke.

Aucklander Jesse Hiini was visiting his family's Bay property on Saturday night when his dog Layce broke free from her lead and took off while they were out to dinner.

Neighbours heard screeching car tyres and thought something had been hit and Mr Hiini said they have been looking for Layce since the incident.

"We still could not find her [on Sunday] and we saw the big mess on the road and it's right on the state highway."

Mr Hiini said a trail of blood led in the direction of the river so they had "pretty much come to terms with the fact that she must be dead".

Two days later, Mr Hiini's girlfriend Acacia Howearth decided to get a tattoo of the dog's face, date of birth and believed date of death on her forearm.

"By that time we were sure we weren't going to find her," she said.

However, Mr Hiini's family contacted him yesterday with the good news that they had seen Layce alive and running around Te Puke. They hoped to catch the injured dog last night, Mr Hiini said.

Miss Howearth said she did not regret the tattoo and would not get it removed.

"I'm going to keep it as is. I'm just looking at it as that's the day we nearly lost her and a miracle happened and we didn't."