A CANCER sufferer has pleaded for help after being left “heartbroken” when her pet dog ran away.

Sarah Lawrence returned home on Thursday after two days of chemotherapy treatment at the Churchill Hospital.

She was looking forward to seeing her five-year-old Jack Russell Casha again but was devastated to find the dog had gone missing.

Despite searching the streets around her Didcot home with partner Daniel Jones, she was unable to find the pooch and has asked the public to help.

Miss Lawrence said: “I had been looking forward to getting home from hospital to see her because she really cheers me up so I was so upset when she was not there.

“I had been in the Churchill Hospital since Tuesday and it [the chemotherapy] was just so upsetting.

“When I got in and looked in the back garden, she was gone.

“Daniel had left the door open because it was a nice day but we had had a delivery earlier that week and the gate was accidentally propped open.

“Casha must have squeezed out through the gap.

“I was just shocked really.

She is a part of my family, I am absolutely heartbroken.”

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in January after doctors removed a tumour from her jaw and discovered it was caused by osteosarcoma.

The rare bone cancer is only diagnosed in about 530 people each year in the UK.

It most commonly affects the arms or legs and symptoms include swelling and tumours around the affected areas.

After surgery to reconstruct her jaw, Miss Lawrence started on a course of chemotherapy, which is still ongoing.

She said: “Chemotherapy is really horrible. Every five weeks I spend two-and-a-half weeks in hospital and have chemo as an inpatient.

“Casha and my other dog Deano are great company when I am not well.

“I have had them both since they were tiny. They are best friends.”

Miss Lawrence has posted on Facebook regularly since Casha went missing but has not tracked her down yet.

Yesterday there were some sightings of a dog matching Casha’s description near the Southern Bypass in Oxford.

She is microchipped but is not wearing a collar.

“Since I put it on Facebook, people have been great looking for her but we need people to keep looking if we are going to be able to find her. I really want to get her back as soon as possible.”

  • Anyone with information about Casha can get in touch with the Oxford Mail on 01865 425500 or take her to a vet.