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Frantic search for grandmother's dog after she was 'thrown from car' in crash

A frantic search is on for a dog thrown from a car during a head-on crash which left a grandmother in a coma and two young children seriously injured.

New Zealand grandmother Faye Emery was driving with her three grandchildren aged 11, 6 and 2 in Taupo, North Island, when the accident occurred.

Her two year old dog, a chihuahua named Bubbles, was thrown from the car.

Missing dog in New Zealand: Bubbles the chihuahua, 2, (pictured) has been missing since she was thrown from a car during an accident on Friday.
Bubbles the chihuahua, has been missing since she was thrown from a car during an accident on Friday. Source: Facebook/Help Find Bubbles

“Bubbles sat behind Nanna’s head and sat on her shoulders,” 25-year-old Auckland-based grandson Aaron Marine said of his grandmother’s canine companion.

“She loves snuggling.”

Ms Emery and the two older children were injured in the crash and she has been placed in an induced coma between surgeries.

Missing dog in Taupo: New Zealand grandmother Faye Emery (left) is in a coma as the community searches for her missing dog Bubbles.
New Zealand grandmother Faye Emery (left) is in a coma as her local community searches for her missing dog Bubbles. Source: Facebook/Help Find Bubbles

Miraculously, the pooch survived the crash and was initially sighted about five minutes afterwards in the surrounding area.

“The dog has then been thrown from the vehicle and she has fled, taken off, because she’s gotten scared,” Mr Marine said.

Mr Marine started a Facebook page to find the pooch on Sunday, prompting local Taupo police and community members to search for the missing pooch.

“The community’s been so great, within the first couple of days, there was probably about 280 members, at least 50 people searching for her,” Mr Marine said.

“I mean, it’s just been growing, the community’s been offering us housing and accommodation.”

Ms Emery, who lives in Turangi in the North Island, is very close to Bubbles, the offspring of her previous dog Basil, who died after being hit by a car.

Missing dog in New Zealand: Bubbles has been sighted at various locations around Taupo since her disappearance on Friday as shown in the map above.
Bubbles has been sighted at various locations around Taupo since her disappearance on Friday, as shown in the map above. Source: Facebook/Help Find Bubbles

Bubbles was last sighted at about 9.30am local time on Tuesday in the area near the crash.

Mr Marine urges anyone with information about Bubbles’ location to post in the Facebook group ‘Help Find Bubbles.’