“We are both obviously very upset and just hope he comes home safely soon"

The two dogs were swept into the sea by crashing waves at Tide Mills near Newhaven at around 4pm on Monday.

While one dog returned to shore, 13-month-old clumberdoodle Sergio has not been seen since.

Owner Craig Poulter has urged anyone who sees Sergio – a cross between a clumber spaniel and a poodle – to get in contact.

It was Mr Poulter’s friend and fiancée Sophie Warwick who were walking their dogs when the incident happened.

Lifeboat crews and the coastguard were called to rescue the dog walkers, who were treated by paramedics but did not need to go to hospital.

The crews carried on searching for the light beige clumberdoodle for half an hour but were unsuccessful.

Mr Poulter, 27, of Seaford, said: “We are both obviously very upset and just hope he comes home safely soon.

“Sophie wasn’t hurt when she went into the sea and didn’t get into difficulty. But we want to say a big thank you to the RNLI crew and the coastguard for their help.

“We carried on looking for him after the crew stopped but then had to go home. We’ve reported Sergio missing to the police now and we are just asking people to keep an eye out for him.

“We hope he has come ashore elsewhere and has taken shelter. We just hope someone spots him and calls the police to let us know.”

Sergio was last seen wearing a brown leather collar which has his owner’s name and phone number.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting reference serial 263 of May 19 or contact The Argus on 01273 544539 where a reporter will contact Mr Poulter directly on their behalf.

Background

Aaron Daniel, maritime operations officer, said: “If your dog gets into difficulty in the water you should not try to rescue the animal, as you are likely to get into difficulty yourself.

“Dog walkers should consider keeping their dogs on a lead when walking at the coast. If your dog does get into trouble along the coast you should call 999 and ask for the coastguard.”