Owner appeals for information after Gizmo the chihuahua was taken from house in Paignton

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A dog owner has asked for help to be reunited with her miniature chihuahua after a seagull took it from a garden in Devon.

Becca Hill, 24, from Paignton, has appealed for information about four-year-old Gizmo, who was carried away on Sunday afternoon.

She told the Devon Live website: “My partner was in the garden putting the washing out at the time and suddenly he saw it swoop down. It carried Gizmo a fair way as we couldn’t see him any more. I have no idea if he was dropped or where he is now.”

Hill also wrote on Facebook: “Please, please, please, anyone finds a chihuahua he’s mine, a seagull took him from my garden.”

She said her six-year-old daughter was upset and missing the dog but did not witness Gizmo being taken away.

Hill posted an update on Facebook today, saying: “My baby is still missing. Doesn’t feel right not waking up to him licking my face.”

The chihuahua is brown and white and its breed only grows to about 23 cm (9 in) tall.

Hill, who owns three chihuahuas, said she had heard reports of seagulls snatching dogs but never expected it to happen to her.

The search resumed on Monday with leaflets distributed in the local area.

UAV Lost Dog Search & Rescue, a local organisation, has urged households to check their gardens, rooftops, trees and hedges.

It wrote on Facebook: “Sadly still missing. Anyone who lives in the surrounding areas in Paignton please can you keep your eyes open.”

In an earlier statement, the group said there were false rumours circulating on social media that Gizmo had been found and also advised people not to use a drone to look for the dog.

It added: “For anyone thinking of using a drone to search the area, please be advised that as this is a highly built up residential area this will be breaking the law and any drone user will be liable for prosecution.”

After an appeal was posted on Doglost.co.uk a contributor called Captain said: “A lot of gardens have been checked and cleared along with rooftops, garage roofs and trees.”

Another contributor, Hasi’smum, wrote: “Apparently he [Gizmo] was taken and flown more or less parallel with the main Marldon Road over the roofs down towards [and maybe further than] Ailescombe Drive.”

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: “This must be extremely upsetting for the dog’s owner. Fortunately these types of incidents are very rare and not typical gull behaviour.”