Puppy, 10 Months Old, Missing In Hamptons: 'There's A Hole In My Soul'

NORTH SEA, NY — A heartbroken family in North Sea is desperately seeking answers after their 10-month-old puppy vanished without a trace last week — possibly stolen.

Oscar is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, white and black with red eyebrows; he weighs about 15 lbs. He was last seen on Tuesday, June 25 at his home on Roses Grove Road, is microchipped and registered as lost and missing — and needs heart medication, his frantic owner Sharon Lynch said.

Lynch said at about 6:30 p.m., she noticed that Oscar, who had been in the fully fenced yard, was missing. He'd only been outside about 20 minutes when she noticed he had disappeared.

"We are fully fenced, but he found one small chink," she said. "If he was running after a squirrel, nothing will stop him."

She and her husband and daughter drove around until 2 a.m., calling for him. Thankfully, Lynch said, he wasn't found injured or worse. "We thought then that maybe someone had picked him up and we started calling vets, shelters — notifying everyone we possibly could."

Teddy Henn of Long Island Lost Dog Search and Rescue, a tracker who has worked tirelessly to bring scores of dogs home safely, headed right to the area with his dog Winston.

"We established that Oscar went up Old Trail Road, off Roses Grove Road, and then, his scent disappeared," Lynch said. "It's likely he was picked up and taken away. He could be anywhere — Riverhead, Deer Park, Setauket."

Lynch, her husband, and her daughter are devastated.

"Oh, my God. It feels like we've lost a family member. It's incredible. It's like when you lose a human, your brain cells are fuzzy, you can't think straight. That's how this feels."

Her family is offering a reward for Oscar's safe return, Lynch said.

Sadly, she said, her family has been scammed twice by people saying they had Oscar, but despite the fact that she turned up at the spot mentioned — "I sat there for two hours, my heart soaring," she said — both were false leads. Scammers who capitalize on a person's grief, she said, "are disgusting."

Oscar, she said, is just recovering from a broken leg, too. "If he's roughhousing with another dog, that's not good," she said.

Describing her beloved pup, Lynch said: "He has never met a person he doesn’t love — unfortunately, in this case. He is the friendliest animal we've ever come across, and we’ve had plenty of dogs. He's super, super friendly, playful, and loving. All you have to do is sit down, and he will leap into your lap." And, she added, laughing, "He's not terribly bright — but he's the cutest little dumb-dumb I've ever met."

Oscar's disappearance has been gutting, Lynch said. "It's complete loss and grief," she said. "Last night I sat down to watch TV for the first time since his happened and the fact that he wasn't there, to leap into my lap — it's a hole in my soul. It's awful. I knew I loved him, but I wasn't aware of how much, the depth of it, until he wasn't there."

Lynch said she's grateful for the outpouring of love from the community who've stepped forward to help. "I had two scammers, but 573 shares on Facebook. All those wonderful people far, far outweighh the bad ones," she said.

Added Barbara Frerichs, who is helping with the search: "Please, little Oscar needs our help. He is only 10 months old."

If you see Oscar, call 631-766-7776.