distressed and bewildered.

And the family of four will do whatever it takes to find their pet which disappeared on a bright, sunny day two weeks ago.

Mrs. Diana Martin, who owns and manages Pretty Penny guest house in Paget, said she and her husband Mr. Steve Martin have launched an Island-wide search for their beloved pet Ariel but to no avail.

"The dog has disappeared without trace,'' she said.

While Pretty Penny guests scoured the neighbourhood even as Hurricane Felix raged, the family have spent hundreds of dollars on advertising in the hope that someone will come forward with information on the dog.

Daily advertisements in The Royal Gazette , appeals on all the radio stations, inquiries with the SPCA, Works and Engineering and Belco teams have borne no fruit so far. Nor have the hundreds of flyers the family has posted on car windshields and in supermarkets, gas stations and pharmacies throughout the Island. Mrs. Martin said she returned home at 1 p.m. on August 9 to find Ariel, a five-month old standard poodle named after a character in Shakespeare's "Bermuda play'', the Tempest, had disappeared from their home.

Nobody at the busy guest house, including guests, taxi drivers or staff had seen or heard anything, she said. And even though the family immediately searched the neighbourhood, there was no sign that the dog had been hit.

Three days later a tracking dog trained in sniffing out drugs and animals was hired to hunt down the lost dog but the trail stopped dead across the road from the Martins' property. Mrs. Martin said both Ariel and their other adult poodle regularly visited the house across the road but always returned.

"They never wandered off,'' she said. "They were pretty much stay at home dogs. They weren't `garbage dogs'.'' Since the disappearance of Ariel, Mrs.

Martin says she has been unable to sleep.

"We really are very distressed,'' she said. "It has been very hard for all of us. We really, really want our dog back. We've had her since she was eight weeks old.'' So far the family believe one of two things could have happened to Ariel.

Either the dog was hit by a car and buried or she has been taken in as a stray.

The worst, says Mrs. Martin, is not knowing.

Mrs. Martin is asking anyone who has seen the dog or a dog that looks like Ariel to contact them at 236-1194 or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Shelter at 236-7333. A $200 reward is offered for information leading to the safe return of the dog.

WHERE IS SHE? -- Twelve-year-old Anya Maas poses with the sister of her missing dog Ariel. This black poodle is identical in size and appearance to the female poodle puppy which disappeared without trace two weeks ago. Ariel's owners have launched an Island-wide search for their pet and are offering $200 for its safe return.