Missing dog appeal in Islington goes viral after Jeremy Clarkson retweet

Kate Spicer with her beloved dog, Wolfy Archant

A social media appeal to find a dog that went missing in Tufnell Park on Halloween has gone viral - after being re-tweeted by Jeremy Clarkson and Ricky Gervais.

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Wolfy escaped from Kate Spicer's brother's house in Tufnell Park Road on October 31 Wolfy escaped from Kate Spicer's brother's house in Tufnell Park Road on October 31

Journalist Kate Spicer had left her six-year-old Lurcher named Wolfy with her brother’s family, who live in Tufnell Park Road, on Saturday October 31, while she was at a wedding in Surrey.

Miss Spicer, 46, said: “Sadly, Wolfy felt a bit abandoned, and sat by the front door waiting for our return. When my niece went to the door to a trick-or-treater Wolfy shot out of the door and bolted, very fast – lurchers are pretty good runners – down Tufnell Park Road and ran like a bullet up Holloway Road, shooting across static traffic and into Upper Holloway train station.”

Despite the best efforts of Miss Spicer’s brother, he eventually lost sight of the dog.

When he called his sister to say that her beloved dog had gone missing, she rushed back to London.

“I just froze. I didn’t say goodbye - I just ran straight to the car.”

She added: “On the drive back to London, I was bawling my eyes out most of the way.”

After being given sightings of Wolfy by people in the area, Miss Spicer frantically combed Finsbury Park and Stroud Green, calling out her dog’s name.

“Dog owners come to us asking what’s wrong,” she said. “People of all kinds were super kind. We get some more sightings. Eventually, dazed, we drove back to West London where we live.”

That night, Miss Spicer extended her search by taking to social media. The following morning, she woke up to find that her appeal had been re-tweeted thousands of times. Among those who re-tweeted it were broadcaster and dog-owner Jeremy Clarkson, who has almost 6 million followers; journalist Kay Burley and comedian Ricky Gervais.

“To be honest I was so heartbroken about Wolfy that I didn’t really register it,” Miss Spicer said.

Since then, Jeremy Clarkson’s tweet has since been re-tweeted almost 10,000 times.

Meanwhile, Miss Spicer has continued to tweet her appeal. She has also posted it on local websites and put up several posters and flyers in shops.

The response, she says, has been extraordinary.

“What is amazing is the repsonse of N4, N7 and N16 residents - when I post that Wolfy has been sighted in their area, they immediately go out on the streets to have a look for him.”

Unfortunately, not all the sightings she has received are genuine, with one person even calling her to say that her dog is on the M62 in Salford.

“I normally have enough of a sense of humour to know a prank from not, but I was so distraught that I started asking them where Wolfy was on the M62 - and they fell about in stoned laughter,” she said.

The last reported sighting of Wolfy was at the N19 bus stop in Finsbury Park on the night of Halloween. There have also been possible sightings in Clissold Park.

Since then, the trail has gone cold. But Miss Spicer has not given up hope.

“They say two out of every three pets that go missing are reunited with their owners. I really hope we are among those two in three. We adopted Wolfy a year ago, and he is a hugely loved member of our family.”

Have you seen Wolfy? Contact Kate Spicer on 07712007020