Would you keep searching until you found an answer?

That is the problem faced by former Stawell resident Marni Rathgeber, who is looking for answers about where her 18-month old Maltese Shih Tzu, Bentley, is.

Bentley and Ms Rathgeber came to visit Stawell from their home in Geelong on Saturday June 27, 2020, and over 12 months later, Ms Rathgeber still doesn't know what has happened to her furry friend.

Ms Rathgeber said Bentley went missing in the care of her mother, Gerardine Sawyer, when he was let outside without his leash on.

She said Bentley was training to become a support dog, to provide much needed care for her in some social situations, but the last 12 months have been difficult without him around.

"He was being trained as a support dog and when COVID-19 hit it was around the time he went missing," she said.

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"I was going through the toughest part of it all and I didn't have him.

"You feel horrible.

"At the moment I don't want to go out and deal with people, but with Bentley he was that little distraction.

"He was great and he little enough that he would sit at your feet while you went into any shops."

Authorities around Stawell were notified about his disappearance and Ms Rathgeber said she initially received some information about potential sightings, but to no avail

"I put a post on Facebook straight away," she said.

"It was a Saturday when he went missing and so we rang the ranger after hours

"We also rang the microchipping place and they flagged him as missing or stolen, as they do.

"I have done everything, there was nothing else I could do."

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Ms Rathgeber said she the lack of news about Bentley has been disheartened and she hoped he was okay.

"Being the town I grew up in, I would be really disappointed if someone has got him and hasn't handed him in because it is illegal," she said.

"There's no excuse to hold onto someone's pet and I think some has got him.

"There's no reason for him to be seen and then for him to vanish, for him to vanish is really strange.

"The vet knows, the ranger knows, someone has got to know something.

"It is important for me to get him back or know what happened because he has so much training to do and he was doing so well.

"It has been tough and the horrible feeling of thinking that someone has got my dog is not very nice."

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