Missing Miracle: Tea Tree Gully woman’s search for beloved show dog missing in Queensland

The Tea Tree Gully woman was not about to settle for just putting up posters when her pedigree pooch went missing from a Queensland dog sitter.

Miracle the dog has gone missing in Queensland, sparking a big search effort by his SA owner. Picture: GoFundMe

A Tea Tree Gully woman has hired a private pet detective and sent thermal drones to Far North Queensland in a desperate bid to find her valuable show dog, who disappeared without a trace.

Dog breeder Margaret Jones, 69, sent her English setter Miracle to Rungoo, near Cairns, earlier this month, leaving him with a local pet sitter who planned to enter him in a number of dog shows in the region over an eight week period.

“I’m not young anymore and I find running around with English setters a bit much, so I thought I’d send him up there so he could enter into shows there,” Ms Jones said.

Margaret Jones with her dog Miracle. Miracle is missing in Northern Queensland. Picture supplied

Miracle (right) at home with best mate Kiki. Picture: Facebook

However, early last Thursday morning, Ms Jones learned that Miracle had run away and gone missing from the dog sitter’s home.

Despite being unable to travel to Queensland herself, the pensioner has been leading a large-scale search to find the 17-month-old pedigree pup from interstate, spending upwards of $1000 on thermal imaging drones to scour the area for any signs of life.

She has also hired a private pet detective, who has door knocked the area for potential sightings of Miracle, plastered social media with pleas for his whereabouts and called local vets in the hopes a good Samaritan would turn him in.

There was hope later on Thursday, after a local told the detective they believed they had spotted Miracle at Bramston Beach – 150km away from where he went missing.
On Friday, another local said they saw Miracle at the Cairns Bunnings store. However, a search of both areas came up stumps.

Ms Jones, a second-generation breeder, said Miracle was invaluable to her the last male dog in her pack.

Missing SA show dog Miracle won Best Baby in Group at the 2023 Cohuna & District Kennel Club Championship Show. Picture: Facebook

“I’ve been in the dog world all my life, my father’s still alive in his 90s and he still judges … it’s a hobby that involves the whole family,” she said.

“We tried to get his mum pregnant a number of times and it never happened – then, she had Miracle.

“I’ve got no other males to breed with. I only had one pup from that winning girl, and now he’s gone.”

While there has been no luck in the search thus far, Ms Jones said she was holding out hope Miracle would “live up to his name” and be found safe and sound soon.

Originally published as Missing Miracle: Tea Tree Gully woman’s search for beloved show dog missing in Queensland