A hero paramedic who tackled a knife-wielding teenager eight years ago is begging for help to find his missing dog, who he thinks was stolen.

Gary Balderston’s one-year-old whippet Willow vanished from outside the family home in Murston, Sittingbourne, four days ago and hasn’t been seen since.

The 53-year-old was working on his drive in Wheatcroft Close on Friday at around 1pm with a friend when they headed in for lunch, accidentally forgetting to lock the front door.

Minutes later Willow had wandered outside and was captured on CCTV mooching around neighbours’ houses before heading towards Elm Grove.

Gary rushed outside just three minutes after the canine was seen on camera but there was no sign of his four-legged friend.

Ever since her disappearance, the father-of-four and his wife Nicky, along with friends and family, have plastered hundreds of posters around the Murston area.

Gary said: “We’ve been out every day, sometimes at 4am just to call her name and listen out for a bark or distressed dog but there’s been no sightings at all.

"She is a massive part of the family, it’s absolutely heartbreaking..."

“We’ve been door knocking everyone in the area and one woman told my daughter someone tried to take her bulldog from her front garden recently, which is worrying.”

The critical care paramedic explained how his wife got a bizarre call on Saturday night from a withheld number.

He added: “A man rang from a blocked number and told Nicky he had Willow in his lock up and then asked loads of questions about her age, breed, and if she had been spayed.

“He wouldn’t tell us where he was or send us any pictures of her and then hung up, which was totally bizarre. We had two similar calls on the Sunday from numbers that when answered just said nothing.”

Gary has informed the police who are now investigating it as a possible stolen dog case.

Paramedic Gary and three of his colleagues were nominated for a Pride of Britain award in 2013 after he tackled a knife-wielding teenager who had just stabbed his friend in the neck.

“Willow is like a member of the family,” he said.

“What upsets me is that I’m a paramedic who has worked through Covid, had police commendations and been a finalist for Pride of Britain, but there could be someone out there who has my dog, who is like a daughter to me.

“She is a massive part of the family, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.”

Gary and Nicky have two other whippets - aged three and 10 - and were planning to take Willow to meet with her breeder and the rest of her litter on Sunday, before she went missing.

Willow is a beige, tanned coloured dog with white feet and white tip on her tail. She is wearing a pink studded collar.

Anyone with information should call Gary on 07967653583.

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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