Ollie the cocker spaniel reunited with owners
He was taken from Broad Oak Kennels last month
A stolen dog from Rye has had an emotional reunion with its owner.
17 month old cocker spaniel Ollie was taken Broad Oak Kennels in Udimore Road late last month.
About one week after he was taken, the owner of a house in Brands Hatch, Kent, heard a scratching and whining at their back door.
They contacted Battersea Dogs Home, who recognised Ollie from various police appeals and were able to reunite him with his family.
Owner Mark said: “This week has been the worst nightmare of my life. Ollie was bought as a therapy dog for my wife and him going missing absolutely destroyed her – she hadn’t stopped crying since last Thursday.
“Now she’s like a changed woman! Yesterday she’s happy, bubbly, we may even have polished off a couple of bottles of wine. And thankfully Ollie’s fine – probably a bit shell-shocked – but no injuries.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone involved. All the appeals on social media, everyone who shared them and the police for their investigation – I know how much they’ve been doing behind the scenes.”
Sergeant Jon Attfield, of Heathfield’s Rural Crime Team, said: “Myself and PC Zoe King were delighted to be able to reunite Ollie with Mark and Paula, who have been so supportive in what has been a horrific week for them.
“It’s highly likely that Ollie’s captors have been forced to release him after a combination of extensive social media coverage and proactive work by officers from multiple policing teams simply made him too hot to handle. Luckily, Ollie has then had the good sense to make his way into someone’s back garden.
“The moment we saw Ollie in Brands Hatch we knew it was him, and it was such a pleasure to see him happy and healthy back at home.
“I’d like to thank everybody who shared appeals for information and all the people who supported this investigation.”