A FAMILY left devastated by the death of their beloved pet dog Rocco when he went missing and drowned on a walk, have thanked the hundreds of people who supported them.

Rocco’s owners were greatly moved and grateful for the huge community response when they desperately appealed publicly for help in finding the Staffordshire Bull Terrier when he was swept away on Monday last week.

However, sadly, on Friday last week after days of searching, and the day before dozens of wellwishers were due to join a search organised by the family, walkers found his body in the river where he was lost near Devon Consuls and Tamar Trails.

Luke, Kelly and their son Joey, eight, said the loss of Rocco when he was in the care of a dog walking service, ‘left a hole in their family.

Rocco was hand-picked as a puppy by Joey who thought of him as his ‘best friend and brother’.

Luke, a carpenter, from Tamar Avenue, Tavistock, said: ‘Joey is especially upset, he saw Rocco as his ‘brother’ and and best friend. He even had breakfast with him before school.

‘Rocco was such a loyal and friendly dog. He was hand-picked by Joey as the runt of the litter.

‘There’s a big hole in the family now.

‘We’re all truly heart broken and want to thank everyone who has shared on social media and helped with searching.

‘It was an amazing community support. Hundreds of people supported us on social media and had already searched in the days before the organised search we’d planned for Saturday.’

Luke and Kelly looked for Rocco every day morning til night, walking for hours before and after work in the Tamar Valley woodland west of Tavistock and along the river to Gunnislake, Morwellham Quay and Calstock.

Complete strangers, neighbours, dog lovers and friends also scoured the woodland, responding to a poster campaign and social media apeal.

Luke added: ‘ It just shows that out of sadness can come something positive. It has renewed our faith in community spirit and how people can pull together when needed. They gave us a big boost at our lowest morale to have all those messages of support.

‘We’ve been honest with Joey the whole time and he has been so strong and brave, but devastated at losing his ‘brother’.’

Rocco will be cremated and Joey wants to scatter his ashes on plaster on a footpath to preserve them. Some ashes will be made into resin pyramid memorials. The family will also make up a plaque to be placed where he died.

Kelly said: ‘We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped share on Facebook and who went looking. Your love and support is the only thing keeping all three of us going’.

Rocco, who turns three in September, was being walked by dog walking company Paws In Motion in Blanchdown Woods when he ran into the river and disappeared. The area is dotted with open mine shafts and it was feared he might have fallen down one.

The fire service were called out at the time but efforts to find Rosso were in vain.

Paws in Motion, told the Times how upset they were by the incident. Joel King, husband of Hannah, the company owner, said: ‘We are of course, heartbroken by the events; my wife none more so than anyone, in the fact that she was on the scene and risked her life to dive in.’