Bunbury woman whose home and business was destroyed by storms has further heartbreak as dog goes missing

As many pet owners would tell you, having a furry friend go missing would rank in the top handful of worst thing to happen. And, despite her home and business being damaged in Bunbury’s freak storms earlier this year, for Deborah Males that still rings true. Her beloved dog Tilley has gone missing with fears she may have been taken after escaping through a front door. She is hoping the community can help find her four-legged friend who her other border collie Emma is missing. The Boathouse B&B owner hasn’t seen the black and white border collie in a week, something she told the Times is out of character. “She’s an intelligent dog and well-trained — if she could find her own way home, she would,” Ms Males said. Ms Males’ suspicions of foul play were raised after scouring CCTV footage from houses and business along Austral Parade, with no sight of her. Tilley is registered, tagged and micro-chipped so if she is found, she has the best chance of being reunited. “It’s one thing to lose your house and your business, it’s another to not have your dog around, or to, I hate to think, have someone not return your dog,” she said. “I’ve been contacted by lots of neighbours who have told me about dogs being taken,” Ms Males said. Ms Males is so stranger to disaster this year after The Boathouse B&B was severely damaged in the June storms which ripped through Austral Parade and blew the roof off neighbouring property The Parade Hotel. She has since been living in a rental property, with concerns they may have to “start again” with their business. “It wasn’t safe in here to live with the amount of water and black mould that came through,” Ms Males said. “At the moment we’ve just been trying to assess the damage, but right now the building looks like it’s so damaged that we might have to physically start again.” Ms Males said it was heartening to see the community help her desperate search for Tilley. “The strength of the community has kept me going,” she said. “We went into Bunnings yesterday and saw they had put up our little wanted posters at their cash registers. “I’m so blessed to have so much support.” A reward is being offered for anyone with information about Tilley who is a small black and white border collie with four black spots on her left front leg and three black spots on her right back leg. Anyone with information can contact Ms Males on 0400 543 111.