CONCERNED owners of a Crufts prize-winning dog have offered a £500 reward for the safe return of their beloved pet.

Rafa, a two-year-old miniature bull terrier, went missing in Denholme last Thursday morning.

It was last seen in his owner’s back garden in Whalley Lane at about 7.30am. The garden backs onto Bucks Park.

Now his owner/breeders Dom, Elaine and Verity Clark are offering a £500 reward for its return to the family.

They have also put up missing posters across Denholme and Cullingworth in a bid to find the much-loved animal.

The brindle and white-coloured dog was wearing a blue collar.

Rafa beat off stiff competition from 85 other dogs in March this year to be crowned the best of breed in the miniature bull terrier category at Crufts. He followed this up with a victory at the Leeds Championship Dog Show, held at Harewood House in July.

Mrs Clark says her family have launched a detailed search in a bid to end their “nightmare” since Rafa went missing.

There has been one possible sighting, at Foster Park in Denholme on Saturday morning.

She said: “It has just been a nightmare.

“I don’t know how people cope when a child goes missing – it’s bad enough when a dog goes missing. We have just been beside ourselves.

“Rafa went missing in the back field of our house, and we have searched all of the quarry and all roads near the house. It is very rural around here.

“We have offered a £500 reward if anyone can find him safe. If he comes back, it would be worthwhile. We have put up posters all over the place.

“We have also been searching around Bucks Park and the quarry around there.”

Mrs Clark added: “He has been a successful show dog. Crufts was a really fantastic day for us.

“We have bred him, his mother and his grandmother. We have known him since he was a few minutes old. Rafa is well-known in the miniature bull terrier world.

“To the public he will come across as a fairly cutesy dog, but he is important to us for sentimental as well as a breeding point of view.

“We have had people come over from Germany and Sweden this year to use him for stud.”

Anyone with any further information on Rafa’s whereabouts is urged to contact Elaine on 07711 734266 or 07740 520528.

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