Dog stolen in Leeds in 2014 is found 45 miles away

Puggy reunited with his owner Maurice Loscombe.

Maurice Loscombe was devastated when Puggy was taken from his Beeston property during a break-in in March 2014, and suspected the pedigree pooch would have been sold on.

So he was amazed to receive a call from charity DogLost telling him that Puggy had been found alive and well in Worksop, Nottinghamshire - a market town 45 miles from Leeds.

The unfortunate pet had been sold to new owners twice since the theft, and had been purchased just seven weeks ago by an unsuspecting man who then took her to his local vet.

A scan of his microchip and DogLost Halo tracker by Wildbore Vets revealed Puggy has been reported stolen and vet Sharon Clayton contacted the charity, which specialises in reuniting lost pets with their families.

DogLost’s Jayne Hayes asked Maurice what his dream Christmas present would be during the phone call in which she broke the happy news to him.

“I screamed ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe it, I’m going to cry’ ”, he said.

Vet Sharon added:

“This is the first time this has happened to us and it demonstrates the importance of scanning. We are so happy for the owner. Puggy knew who Maurice was immediately and was so happy to see him again, he went crazy.

“Unfortunately, the couple who had adopted Puggy had to return him to his original owner - and although devastated as they had bought him in good faith, they were absolutely lovely about it.”