Staff and students at a New Taipei City elementary school are on the lookout for their school dog after she went missing last month.
The mixed-breed, 13-year-old dog — named Huang Yu-chih (黃玉枝) — went missing on Jan. 24 after she was frightened by firecrackers that were set off by residents near the school as part of Lunar New Year celebrations.
Kuo Li-ying (郭立穎), a teacher who normally cares for the dog, has posted notices to the school and community social media accounts asking people in the community to report any information on the dog’s whereabouts, Bali Elementary School principal Chen Mu-lin (陳木琳) said on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Kuo Li-ying
“Huang Yu-chi is not only a friend to everyone in the school, but is a minor celebrity in all of New Taipei City,” Chen said.
The city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office once included the dog in a video, and students at the school painted pictures of her on the school’s outer walls, Kuo said.
The school adopted the dog in 2007 when she was discovered as a stray, he said, adding that she was originally cared for by the school’s guard.
“Back then there was an administrative assistant working at the school named Chin-chih (金枝) who often went to the guard’s office to chat. She gave the dog the name ‘Huang Yu-yeh’ (黃玉葉),” Kuo said.
However, because the young children at the school had trouble saying this name, it was later changed to Huang Yu-chih, he said.
As the dog often followed principal Chen when he made the rounds at the school, the students affectionately refer to her as “honorary vice principal,” Kuo said, adding that the dog also stood with Chen at the school entrance every morning as students arrived and again in the afternoon when they left.
Huang Yu-chih has light yellow fur and wears a red collar, he said, adding that she was wearing blue clothing when she went missing, which might have fallen off since.
Kuo urged people who think they have seen the dog to contact the school at (02) 2610-2217. Pictures of suspected sightings can also be uploaded to a Facebook page titled “Fans of Huang Yu-chih” (黃玉枝粉絲團) for confirmation, he said.
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