Sir,

Last Sunday (30th March) was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the day our two young family black labrador retrievers, 'Arthur' (two-years-old, pictured) and 'Furlong' (eight-months-old) went missing from our garden, at around 2pm.

We live in The Fence, in the St Briavels area of Gloucestershire.

Being young labradors, they are highly inquisitive and with a huge sense of adventure and fun and it seems they managed to jump a fence which we'd assumed was high enough to contain them in the garden.

They were last seen that same afternoon, I believe around 4pm, on farmland in the Stowe/ St Briavels area of GL15.

Losing them has left us feeling overwhelmed with worry.

They were wearing green collars as per the photo, with Kennell Club tags. Both are micro-chipped.

Furlong was whelped in Monmouth July 2013, Arthur in Yorkshire March 2012. We absolutely adore them. 

Being Labs, they are wanderers and of course we have thought about sheep and it being lambing season and all sorts of awful things have crossed our mind.

We've been searching for a week now but absolutely nothing.

On Saturday 5th April we returned home, again with heavy hearts, only to hear that two black labs had apparently stopped the traffic at Dixton Roundabout in Monmouth that afternoon. They were seen heading towards the school playing fields.

We had new hope that surely this must be Arthur and Furlong and were so relieved to think they were together.

Volunteers and friends and family immediately shifted our search to Monmouth. At midnight, with no further sightings, we returned home disappointed but with hope that they were together. We were now convinced it was only a matter of time before they were found. 

But our hope was short-lived as Sunday morning we heard the labs seen at Dixton Roundabout in Monmouth belonged to someone else and they had been rounded up and returned to their owners that same evening.

There was a sighting of a black Lab in Woolaston on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th April fitting Arthur's description, but we can't be sure it was him.

We've searched Woolaston and Clanna Woods and posted 'Missing' flyers in the surrounding areas of Hewelsfield and Alvington. 

With dog theft, particularly gundogs, becoming a rapidly growing crime, we're not sure if they might have been stolen.

If anyone has any information please, please please get in touch.

There is a reward for their return.

Melanie Lindsell

(St Briavels)