A Devonshire Road family have appealed for assistance in finding their missing dog after he ran away on Thursday.

Valentino, a Border Collie mix, was last seen in the Tee Street area of Devonshire and has been missing since.

Anastasia Azzario, 36, said that she has led search parties every day since Sunday and even used a drone in hopes of finding Valentino, all to no avail.

The mother of five added: “My children have been asking about him and saying that they miss him.

“I’ve been trying to stay positive, but it’s really weighing down on me and my boyfriend. It’s a little hard.”

Ms Azzario, a clothing store worker, said she learnt of Valentino’s disappearance when she got a call at work explaining that he ran off the property.

She added: “As he left the property, a van had nudged him, but he continued to run after the van hit him.

“We later saw Ring camera footage of him running down Tee Street.

“My boyfriend immediately went out trying to find him but couldn’t.”

Ms Azzario said she put out a call over social media for sightings of Valentino and started a WhatsApp group of 50 members to serve as a hotline.

She said she received multiple tips, only to find out that they were other dogs.

Ms Azzario added that she had led teams of as many as six people to scour the area as far as Flatts Village, while others have started independent searches.

She described Valentino as a brindle-and-white dog who was “shy around strangers” and “friendly but nervous”.

She said that while he was a friendly dog, he was likely to be scared, and urged people who saw him to call her or the dog warden.

Ms Azzario warned that Valentino was not good with other dogs.

• Anyone with information should call 735-2002