Yarra Glen maremma farm dog Sheepis missing from Melba Highway property
A dog napper may be on the loose after Sheepis the ewe protector went missing in Yarra Glen as reports surface four other maremma sheepdogs have also vanished.
Outer East
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A dog thief could be on the loose after half a dozen specialised farm dogs have gone missing across the Yarra Ranges.
Six maremma’s have allegedly gone missing from properties in Montrose, Yarra Glen, Seville, Silvan, Gruyere and Yellingbo recently.
On Facebook a family has appealed for help to find their six-year-old dog Bruno who went missing from Montrose on May 18.
Wandin sheep shearer Michael Apostoladis alerted police to the suspected theft of his dog Sheepis after he spent more than five hours searching a Melba Highway property where the 12-year-old lived with his flock of sheep on Thursday, June 2.
Mr Apostoladis leases land between McIntyre Lane and St Huberts Rd to keep his sheep, and Sheepis the maremma protected the flock from foxes and humans.
Mr Apostoladis said he had walked around the property to check the sheep on Wednesday and Sheepis had been with him making sure the ewes and lambs were safe.
“He was barking to tell the girls I was around,” he said.
“Thursday I looked for him and he wasn’t there. I spent four to five hours searching and he wasn’t around.”
He said he believed the dog was stolen and had heard from others there were four more taken from around the Yarra Valley.
“Someone is going around taking them,” he said.
“He would never leave his sheep.”
This is the second time Mr Apostoladis has been hit by tragedy with his border collie Jesse stolen from the Lilydale Show in 2016.
After a massive community and Leader-driven push on social media, Jesse — who was 10 years old at the time — made it back home after it was suspected the dog was dumped in Reefton looking worse for wear.
Sadly Mr Apostoladis said Jesse had since died and never fully recovered from his ordeal four years ago.
Yarra Glen leading Senior Constable Barry, who is investigating the theft of Sheepis, has encouraged anyone with information to contact the police station 9730 1296 or Crime Stoppers.
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