More than 40 people, including New Zealand Land Search and Rescue personnel giving their time voluntarily, searched hundreds of hectares of land over the weekend in the Purakaunui and Long Beach valleys, and around Heyward Pt Rd.
They were looking for Andy and Alison Cunningham’s dog Meg.
Mr Cunningham has credited Meg with helping him get back on his feet after he leaned forward in the bath in 2012 and damaged a disc in his spine, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
He had emergency surgery at Dunedin Hospital and spent time in the ISIS Centre rehabilitation unit at Wakari Hospital.
He has said the Labrador-huntaway cross was an essential part of his recovery, demanding walks and helping him to keep moving.
Meg was also the inspiration for his work as co-chairman on the recently opened Dunedin Wildlife Hospital.
The Cunninghams, from Purakaunui, were in Wairarapa last week when they heard somebody taking Meg to the beach for a walk had crashed their car.
The car rolled, and while the driver was not injured, Meg took off, and has not been seen since.
"We flew straight back. We got back Wednesday evening and we’ve been working on this ever since.
"She’s a very special dog."
Mr Cunningham took to social media, and had a big response, but with no luck finding Meg.
Searchers even used drones in their efforts. There was an intensive search of the crash site, by the Purakaunui Station Rd intersection, to see if Meg had crawled away injured, and hid, but there was no evidence she had.
"The current thinking is she has bolted and gone to ground."
Now the couple planned to offer "a substantial reward" to help find her.
Mr Cunningham said friends would distribute leaflets today from Waitati to St Leonards to Aramoana, to help find Meg, who was microchipped and wearing a red collar with a Dunedin City Council tag, so she could be easily identified.
People had again offered their time to look for Meg tomorrow if she had not been found by then.
"We’re keen to get as many as possible."
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She will come back. Our lab has been in a car crash, has run away in storms and fireworks but got always got back to us (rather bedraggled). I will pass the word around to start called for MEG!