A beloved Irish wolfhound has vanished. Security cameras have been stolen. And an enticing $10,000 reward has failed to bring him home.

Now a heartbroken owner is desperate for answers after his dog Bundy disappeared from a property in Balingup — and a cruel false lead offered a glimmer of hope before leaving him shattered all over again.

The 18-month-old Irish wolfhound–blue heeler cross went missing near Southampton Road on October 9.

Westyn Ruyter had let Bundy and his two other dogs, Winnie and Runt, out as he normally did when he arrived at his property, where he is building a house.

“They chase the car up the road and they do a little lap, and they usually follow us up to the house,” he said.

But this time, the dogs kept running.

At first, Westyn was not concerned. The dogs had not been to the property for a week and he thought they simply wanted to stretch their legs.

By about 6.30pm, Winnie had returned home. But Bundy and Runt were still missing.

As the hours passed, Westyn started to worry.

“I know it’s only been a few hours but I was like, ‘I wonder where they are?’” the 27-year-old tradie said.

Then at about 1.30am, Runt arrived back alone. He was shaking, his back legs appeared to be hurting and he seemed frightened.

Westyn brought him inside and dried him off.

It was then that he noticed a ute in the distance, across the river, and heard the vehicle’s tray rattling against its chassis as it travelled along the road.

The vehicle was about 3km away. Westyn could not know whether it had anything to do with Bundy’s disappearance — but the timing has stayed with him.

“I was like, ‘Imagine if it’s got Bundy’,” he said. “But I was like, ‘Nah, that wouldn’t happen’.”

Westyn could not get back to sleep. By the following morning, Bundy was still missing.

He later discovered his security cameras had been stolen. Whether the theft is connected to Bundy’s disappearance or the ute he heard in the night is not clear.

“Then it got to the next night, so it’s been about 24 hours since we’ve seen him,” Westyn continued.

“I was like, ‘Wow, he’s actually not coming home’.”

Bundy is the puppy of Westyn’s blue heeler, Winnie, and Westyn has had him since birth.

The Pinjarra local described Bundy as one of the gentlest dogs he had ever known.

“He’s just my gentle, beautiful soul ever,” he said. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He listens. He just walks by my side.”

Bundy’s striking blue eyes make him instantly recognisable.

Westyn said that he would do anything to get him home.

He has put up missing-dog posters, appealed for help online and contacted vets and rangers in surrounding areas — but the search has so far failed to find Bundy.

He has offered a $10,000 reward for his safe return.

“People even comment and say, ‘Oh, he’s a $10,000 reward’,” Westyn said.

“$10,000 doesn’t mean anything to me right now. I just want my dog back.”

The search has also been cruelly disrupted by someone claiming to have found Bundy.

The person said the dog had been found on Southampton Road and proposed a meeting at the Balingup general store.

Westyn’s father drove to the store and waited for about an hour before searching around town. Nobody arrived with Bundy.

The person had sent a photograph purporting to show the missing dog inside a cage but Westyn quickly realised it had been manipulated using a photograph he had posted on Facebook.

“It was obvious straight away that they were just playing tricks with me,” he said.

“It’s the exact photo I posted on Facebook with Bundy but they just flipped it and put him in a big fake cage with a fake bowl of water.”

The false lead had briefly raised Westyn’s hopes, only for his father to return empty-handed.

Despite the disappointment, Westyn is still holding out hope that someone knows what happened to Bundy.

“I’d do anything for him,” he said.

“If you have my dog, I’ll give you $10,000 right now. Just happy to get the dog back.”