PEOPLE are being urged to help find a missing assistance dog which supports a 15-year-old talented wheelchair athlete.

Charity Dogs for Good, which trains assistance dogs, is appealing for help to find Velvet, a seven-year-old female black Labrador, who went missing between Elland and Brighouse on Wednesday evening while out for a walk by the canal.

Velvet is partnered with Lottie Wilcocks, who has spina bifida and lives in Elland.

The charity described how the pair have an "incredibly special bond" and that Velvet means the world to the whole family. Family and friends have searched continuously since she went missing and are desperate to reunite Velvet with Lottie.

In 2014 the pair reached the finals of the Crufts Friends for Life competition which celebrates dogs that make a life-changing difference.

A social media campaign to #FindVelvet has been launched urging people to share Velvet's image to try and get her home.

Staff at Dogs for Good are supporting Lottie and her family in the search to find Velvet and they urge anyone with information to call their switchboard on 01295 252600.