Social media star and emotional support buddy snatched by thieves

A DISTRAUGHT dog-lover whose life was changed by this gorgeous german shepherd is not giving up the fight to bring her stolen instafamous pooch home.

A HEARTBROKEN dog-lover has lost her best friend — who became an social media sensation and helped her through her darkest times.

Crooks smashed their way into a Blue Mountains home in NSW to steal 22-year-old Ash Koutsoukos’s instafamous pooch, Ghost, and now she is doing everything in her power to get him back.

The one-year-old pure breed white german shepherd puppy has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram, he’s more than just a pretty face.

Ghost had been a reassuring presence in Ms Koutsoukos’s life, providing her with emotional support to help her through anxiety and depression.

“I’ve been crying every day since he’s been gone,” Ms Koutsoukos said. “My mum and my sister-in-law try and reassure me and tell me that we’re going to find him. He’s more than just a pet — he’s my best friend and my soul.

“I’m never going to stop looking for him. Two years down the track, I’m still going to be looking for him.

“I’ve gone around all of the mountains area putting up posters and my appeals have been shared more than 2000 times on Facebook.”

The incident took place on October 13 and Ms Koutsoukos noticed Ghost wasn’t in the backyard when she returned to her home in Springwood around 5pm.

Another family member noticed the pooch was at the home around 2pm on that day — so it is believed the beloved pet was stolen around 2.30pm.

Ms Koutsoukos believed the intruders broke through a padlock on a gate at the side of the house with a tool and gained entry to the backyard.

“The side-gate was kicked in, smashed and unlatched,” she said.

The family said another of their dogs was “abused” during the incident. They possibly stomped on or kicked the animal — as it had been sulking ever since and refused to be alone.

Ms Koutsoukos said she didn’t believe the dog was targeted because of his social media fame, but said it was strange the thieves didn’t take the nearby puppy litter after breaking in.

“The puppies were inside, but they were right next to the front gate,” she said. “So if she looked through the window they would have seen them. It’s really odd.”

The fluffy hound had a big impact on the young woman’s life and she said Ghost had become her “best friend”.

“Ghost has kept me stable,” she said. “... I was stuck in a bad relationship, so I got Ghost to help me cope with my mental health.

“I’ve been in and out of hospitals — so he’d come with me to doctors appointments.”

The pooch had also become a local celebrity with people stopping him for pictures or just to say, ‘hi’ everywhere he went.

Despite the heartache of losing Ghost, Ms Koutsoukos said wellwishers had been flocking to her Instagram and Facebook pages to provide support.

“People are sharing really nice, loving messages,” she said. “It’s nice to see a social media community pull together and help one another.”