THE owners of a cute little toy poodle are anxiously trying to find him after he ran off while they were moving in to their new home in Ventnor.

During the stress of moving into their new home in Leeson Road — the main Ventnor to Shanklin road — more was heaped upon Paul and Marjo Nicholson after their little dog Coffee ran off into the darkness.

The couple, who had travelled from Sussex yesterday (Friday), noticed Coffee, or Coffee Bean as he was otherwise known, went missing during the busyness of the move, unloading their belongings from their car.

Coffee, one of seven toy poodles the couple own, snuck out and ran off sometime between 5pm and 5.30pm.

Isle of Wight County Press:

The little dog, aged six-and-a-half, was last sighted heading up Leeson Road in the direction of Shanklin, on the side of the road, close to the Smugglers Haven Tea Gardens.

The area surrounding it is thickly wooded, with steep areas leading to the cliff edge.

"While we were moving in, we let our guard down for a second," said Marjo.

"Coffee somehow managed to escape from the sun room. I was with the dogs all the time, but when I was taking the dogs in pairs into the garden to relieve themselves, he must have got out and run off.

"It was only when my husband was unloading the car, he realised Coffee wasn't there and panic set in.

Isle of Wight County Press:

"It was quite a stressful day for the dogs, travelling from Sussex, and I think Coffee must've squeezed out through the door.

"He's very small, about 4.5lb in weight. We're worried he might have fallen on the cliff side of the road or into bramble.

"He hasn't a clue about the cliffs. He has not been to the Island before and I could tell yesterday he was very stressed." 

Isle of Wight County Press: The area where Coffee last seen. The area where Coffee last seen.

Their son and his wife travelled from Winchester this morning (Saturday) to join in the search for Coffee.

"I don't hold out much hope, because he is a toy poodle and should he fall somewhere steep, he would get tangled in bramble.

"If you call him, I don't believe he will come. Toy poodles are very extrovert, but get frightened ever so fast. 

"If he had run towards the town, it would be much easier to get sightings of him. If he fell into bramble we will never see him.

"It doesn't help we don't know the area well to search for him.

"But it has been fantastic, the reaction from people in the area, willing to go out and help look for him. It helps they know the area."

If anyone has any information that can help locate Coffee, please call Marjo on 07853-139698, or Paul on 07881-297190, or alternatively, get in contact with Lost Pets IOW: https://www.facebook.com/LostPetsIOW