Family still searching for dog after 18 months

The caravan park where Skye the collie went missing. Picture: Google Maps

Carol Sinclair, 49, from Manchester was heartbroken when she was holidaying near Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, October 2013 and her collie, Skye, ran off into the wilderness.

She, and her son Luke, 22, have been devastated ever since and spend every free moment they have in Scotland searching for their beloved Skye – who they believe is definitely still alive.

The brown collie dog has been spotted in various locations surrounding the family’s caravan situated at Knock School Caravan Park, Wigtownshire but no one has managed to catch her.

Over the winter months, the pair camped out in a touring caravan about seven miles from the caravan park, as there had been several sightings of Skye in the Elrig and Mochrum areas.

Carol, who owns four other collies, said: “We will not give up until we get our Skye home. Bad weather conditions won’t stop myself and my son looking for our girl.

“She is clever and resilient. We camped out over the winter months looking for her. We built a tent in December, but it blew down so we resorted to sleeping in a tourer.

“We had no electricity, heating, or toilet facilities and it was really cold, but every moment is worth it if we know are closer to getting Skye home.”

Carol said she knows Skye, a rescue dog, is still alive because she believes she has seen her in the distance on multiple occasions and she has been caught on specially placed trail cameras.

Carol added: “The first two years of Skye’s life were horrific before she was rescued, and I think this had a big impact on what has happened. She is just petrified of humans.

“She was locked in a shed as a puppy and she was two years old before I re-homed her.”

Skye ran off on October 22 last year after she slipped her lead in the Machars after becoming spooked by a loud noise.

Since then, Carol and Luke have set up trail cameras around the area she went missing and cook food at meal times to try and coax the pooch back.

Two of Skye’s favourite dishes are spicy chicken breast and mince.

Carol, who works in Manchester, added: “We miss her so much. We know it’s Skye eating the food because of the way it’s taken, if it was a fox or anything else it would be consumed differently.

“I feel like we are coming closer to getting her back, we know she is still here.

“Some people have said it’s all a big scam which is really upsetting and we’ve also had numerous hoax calls.

“Some people have even put glass down in the area where we think she is - which is horrible.

“It’s not easy having to deal with that as well as losing a much loved pet.

“There have been several sightings of her through the cameras on night vision, so we know she is around.

“It is difficult but we will never give up searching for her when we know she is so close.”