Elderly woman desperate to get her ‘baby’ back after her dog was stolen on the way home from a beach walk

Zoe went missing from Weymouth beach on June 28 while walking with owners Johnand Judy Liptrot.

An 82-year-old South Auckland resident believes her 2-year-old dog was dognapped on Matariki Friday as they returned from a beach walk.

The dog, Zoe, is a black miniature Schnauzer-West Highland White Terrier cross, and a gift from her granddaughter, said Judith Liptrot.

She has another larger dog, an English Pointer, which she would take along for daily walks at a beach close to where she lived with her husband, also in his 80s.

“We live really close to the beach, and it’s usual for me to let Zoe off the leash when we get close to home after walks,” Liptrot said.

Zoe is dearly loved, and the owners are desperate to get her back.

On Friday, there was a silver or grey sedan, possibly a Subaru parked close to her home entrance, she said.

“The dogs ran in front of me as they normally would, but next thing I knew the car just made a U-turn and speeded off, leaving skid marks,” Liptrot said.

“I thought that was unusual, and the next thing I realised was Zoe’s gone.”

The incident happened at the beach end of McInnes Rd in Weymouth around 4.30pm.

John Liptrot with Zoe, a mixed-breed dog who went missing from Weymouth Beach.

Liptrot said she did not see Zoe getting taken, but believed that was “most likely what happened.

“I went around looking for her, shouting her name, but it’s like she had just vanished into thin air,” Liptrot said.

“Zoe’s such a homebody, and so attached to me, there’s no way she would have just run off.”

Liptrot described Zoe as her “baby” and said she “meant everything to me”.

“Zoe was a gift from my granddaughter, a puppy from a litter her dog had,” Liptrot said.

“She is dearly loved and we’re just desperate to have her back.”

Liptrot said she has had sleepless nights, and continues to spend hours searching for her dog in the hope that the dognappers may have abandoned her close by.

Zoe wears a red collar with double rings and has an Auckland Council tag.

Liptrot has also turned to social media for help, hoping someone would help her find Zoe.