POLICE say a poster claiming a three-year-old collie had been deliberately abandoned by its owners is an offence under the Public Order Act. The owners, a couple from Hampshire, came to Tavistock on holiday in March and their brown and white collie, Baz, whom they had for a only three weeks, went missing. They were walking near Cut Hill on Dartmoor, when Baz was startled, pulled the lead out of the owner?s hand and ran away. After appeals to newspapers asking if anyone had seen him, reports came in of Baz being spotted on a regular basis in and around Tavistock, frequently visiting one local garden. Baz?s owners travelled to Devon almost every weekend in search for their collie and were reported to have spent £2,000 on their quest and travelled more than 4,000 miles. Unfortunately, after everyone?s time and effort for more than seven months in helping the couple search for Baz, they heard in October he had been killed by a car. Now a poster regarding the dog?s disappearance and death has been put up around the Tavistock area on Down road and on Vigo Bridge. The poster alleges that the owners meant to lose Baz. The writer claims they were not responsible enough to look after the dog. The anonymous writer appears passionate about dogs but describes the pair who lost their pet as a ?pathetic excuse? and says they should never be allowed to own another dog. The letter states ?For the last seven months he has had to fend for himself, filch food from dustbins, and find shelter from our typical squally weather. Sadly, he was enforced into being a loner and living on his wits, only to be callously run over by a car and killed.? PC Richard Carpenter, from Tavistock Police Station, said: ?This is a crime. It is a display with intent to cause a person alarm.? Anyone with information about the offence should contact 08452 777444 and quote the crime reference number JT/05/1553.