DANIA BEACH, Fla. – After a special day of celebrations in South Florida, one family visiting from Naples lost their beloved dog during their trip.
Now the family is desperately trying to get her back, driving down every weekend and spending hours searching the streets for any sign of their girl Rosie.
“We posted fliers -- I mean hundreds and hundreds of fliers between here, Aventura, Boca, West Palm -- I mean, they are everywhere,” Dana Cole told Local 10 News.
You cannot walk down a Dania Beach street without seeing a flier for Rosie.
The 6-year-old, 60-pound black lab went missing the evening of Oct. 7.
Her family is devastated and desperate to find her, and they are offering a $1,000 reward for her return.
Due to her unique coat, this missing dog may stand out a bit.
“She’s got a white patch on her chest and she also has a little white on her neck,” Cole said. “And when I say white, it is really white, and her paws, it looks like she just stepped in a fresh coat of white paint.”
The family was at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor celebrating a birthday when a friend mistakenly left Rosie in a car with all the windows down. The rescue pup jumped out and took off.
“Supposedly she jumped out of the car and went towards US-1 here and then she apparently crossed -- someone did see her right across the street,” Michael Cole said.
A nearby resident claims a man asked her for dog food, appearing to be pursuing a dog.
The neighbor provided surveillance video, but the rain and angle make it difficult to chase any clues.
“I think someone has her and they just fell in love with her or they just don’t know any better to turn her in,” Dana Cole said.
The Cole’s are so committed to finding Rosie that they have taken items with her scent and placed them all over a Dania Beach neighborhood, just hoping to draw her back.
“We have our clothes hidden throughout the neighborhood in bushes, thinking she would come back to our smell,” Dana Cole said.
They have walked 9 miles looking for their favorite girl, but they are also using social media, the help of online strangers and apps like Paw Boost and Pet FBI to get their baby back in their arms.
“She has a family and she has two little girls that miss her so much,” Dana Cole said. “Like our world has crumbled without her. We love her so much and we just want her home.”
Rosie is microchipped and registered as a lost dog with all her information up to date.
When she went missing, she was wearing a red and camouflage harness with “best friend” written in big letters, along with a black and flower collar with Collier County tags.
The family’s hashtag on social media is #bringrosiehome.
Anyone with information about Rosie’s whereabouts is asked to call Dana Cole at 239-825-5556.
