MAGGIE Groves is a long way from home. And now she has lost her two talented working dogs.
Maggie, 22, moved to the area from Darwin to work on “Culbara”, at Woomargama in southern NSW.
She has already earned respect from those in the farming community for her skills with horses and dogs.
But on March, 2, she was hit with an unexpected blow after her dogs Ralph and Snoop went missing during some storm activity.
“They are like my family,” she said.
It is this emotional attachment plus the fact that she needs the dogs for her daily work that has fueled a massive social media campaign to find them.
Friends and family have pledged funds and she has posted a $2000 reward for their return.
Her mum Leigh Bland has made the trip to the Riverina from Darwin to help her daughter with the search.
“These dogs never leave the lawn, I am on 5000 acres and they have never left before … it is unusual for them to leave,” she said.
Maggie described the dogs as both being “clever” and good at their job.
“They are nice dogs and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has picked them up but I can’t see anyone doing the wrong thing,” she said.
Maggie and her mum have distributed more than 200 flyers seeking information about the dogs and her Facebook post has attracted 9000 shares.
“I am getting pretty nervous … I am worried they might have been taken to a pound or have been put down,” she said.
Maggie’s dogs have gone missing just am month after Chris Wilson of Wagga lost his best mate – which was later found at Hay.