Did gang lure Barney to his death?

DISTRAUGHT owners of a pedigree Labrador killed by a car fear dognappers lured him to the busy road where he met his death.

Suzanne and Dave Owen, of Clotton, say they found a fresh salami sausage wrapper by six-year-old Barney's body.

And human footprints ran alongside his pawprints across a freshly ploughed field from Primrosehill Wood, where he disappeared.

Mrs Owen said: 'Barney was the centre of our universe and I feel lost without him.'

At about 4pm last Friday, Mrs Owen drove Barney and their other labrador, Stormy, to the wood.

She took them to the Utkinton part of the forest, parking off Tirley Lane.

She said: 'I remember saying 'hello' to an elderly man who was walking with his son and granddaughter.

'As usual, Barney ran ahead while I walked slowly with Stormy. We walked around the edge of the wood and headed back to the car.

'I saw Barney out of the corner of my eye, looked to my other side and then back again, but he was gone.

'I had this funny sensation that somebody was there in the undergrowth. It got darker and I realised I was not going to find him, so I went home to tell my husband.'

The couple searched the area. While Mr Owen combed the forest, his wife decided to drive around the main roads.

Mrs Owen said: 'When I drove along the A54, I saw red on the road and I knew it was Barney.

'I had to go back and find Dave so we could carry him home. Barney was so cold. I think he had been dead for at least an hour.'

The following day, they found the salami wrapper and the footprints, which they think were made with a trainer.

Mr Owen said: 'I called the police but they said it was not worth the resources it would take up to investigate it.

'They said they could not do anything about it unless we had any evidence. That is why we want people to contact us with information.'

A Cheshire Constabulary spokesman said any call from Mr and Mrs Owen had not been logged.

Mr and Mrs Owen want to hear from anybody who may have seen Barney being led away or seen a car waiting on the roadside.

They would also like to hear from anybody who knows who was driving the car that hit Barney.

If you can help, call 07986 496979.