'Treasured' dog reunited with owner after police raid

A "treasured" dog has been reunited with its owner after police discovered it in a raid.

Dora was found more than 50 miles away from home after officers investigated a site in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, that had 14 other stolen dogs.

Owner Sarah Lamplough said she was "terrified" as the Jack Russell Terrier would fall ill without its heart medication.

She said: "She's old, has cataracts, it's a wicked thing to do."

A 55-year-old man arrested on suspicion of theft in connection with the case has been released under investigation.

Mrs Lamplough, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire said: "They have put us through so much trauma. I was convinced we'd never ever see her again."

Dora went missing after the gate at her home was accidentally left open during freezing temperatures earlier this month,

"She has a heart murmur so we thought she could die or freeze to death so we had the whole community and people on Facebook looking for her using drones and everything," Mrs Lamplough added.

"I cried when the police said they had found her, she is a treasured part of the family."

The dog was found alongside other expensive, sought after breeds who are yet to be reunited with their owners.

Det Supt Steve Bean, of Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: "This is such a heart-warming outcome and a testament to the commitment of the those involved, particularly our officer PC Debbie Shields.

"We know and understand the pain of losing a pet and very often our officers will go above and beyond like this to get a result.

"In her own time, Debbie joined as many lost dog groups on social media as she could to try and find Dora and when her face popped up she knew it was her straight away."

Alex Myrie, Stroud District Council's animal welfare officer, added: "Although Dora was microchipped, her details weren't up to date, despite the owner's effort to get them updated when she went missing.

"We can't stress how vital it is to keep microchip details up to date and we would encourage all pet owners to take this opportunity to check with their chip companies that their details are correctly recorded.

"It really can be the difference in reuniting owners with their missing, much loved, pets."