Pet dog stolen six months ago has been found after police raided a house in Harborough

A pet sausage dog stolen six months ago has been found after police raided a house in Market Harborough.

The very thin male wire-haired dachshund called Rummy was recovered when officers executed a warrant in Welland Park Road on Tuesday (August 17).

Police swooped on the house after being tipped off by Beauty’s Legacy, an animal welfare group which helps to track down lost and stolen dogs.

Five-year-old Rummy was one of eight dachshunds stolen from a kennels near Swadlincote, Derbyshire, 45 miles north of Market Harborough, on February 10.

The charming little dog has now been reunited with his thrilled owner Shelley Tomsett.

Today ecstatic Shelley, 62, of King’s Lynn, Norfolk, told the Harborough Mail that she’s “overjoyed” to have her beloved Rummy home again.

“It means the world to me to get Rummy back.

“I’ve bred dachshunds for 20 years and he’s one of my favourites, he’s such a charmer and got the sweetest nature.

“I met the police halfway to pick him back up on Tuesday and it was such an amazing moment,” said Shelley.

“It’s just such a huge relief to get him back.

“He’s ever so thin, he could have an infection and he was a bit strange when he first met me again because he’s been so badly treated.

“I’ve taken him to the vets for a check-up and I’m feeding him four meals a day to build his weight back up.

“He’s definitely going to get spoilt more than ever from now on,” said the lifelong dog lover.

Shelley owned four of the dogs stolen and she has now got two of them back after her “old boy” Rikki was found in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in May.

Along with Beauty’s Legacy she’s now stepping up efforts to track down her two dogs still missing.

“My beautiful little girls Jess and Cookie, who are both two years old, are still out there somewhere tragically.

“I’ve got no doubt that they’ll be used for breeding.

“Wire-haired dachshund puppies can fetch between £1,500 and £2,000 – so there’s a lot of money to be made.

“It was a friend of mine who runs the kennels near Swadlincote who offered to look after my dogs earlier this year because I was poorly,” said Shelley.

“My heart just stopped when I got the phone call to tell me they’d all been snatched back in February.

“I’ve been to hell and back since.

“I love all my dogs to bits and it’s been a horrific six months.

“I’ve had to go on to medication just to get to sleep.

“And I’ve lost count how many times I’ve cried on the phone to the fantastic Lisa Dean at Beauty’s Legacy.

“She’s been a real star helping to get Rikki and Rummy back – I don’t know what I’d do without her.

“I only hope and pray now that we can get Jess and Cookie back home because it’s too terrible to think about.”

Asked what she thought of the ruthless criminals who stole her dogs, she replied: “They are evil, despicable crooks – and totally heartless.

“The criminals who took my dogs knew exactly what they were doing – it was a highly-organised, targeted raid.

“They have no morals, no conscience, what so ever.

“And the penalties and sentences for stealing people’s dogs should be far tougher.

“These criminals have got to be deterred and they’ve got to be properly punished,” declared Shelley.

“But I’m also appealing to people to be much more careful about how and where they buy their puppies.

“If there was no market, no demand, out there for cruelly stolen dogs or their puppies there’d be no supply.

“So I’m urging everybody looking to buy a pup or a dog to do so from entirely reputable, trustworthy breeders and kennels so that we can stamp out this brutal black market in stolen pets.”

Leicestershire Police said they have not yet made any arrests.

“Inquiries are ongoing into a potential offence for handling stolen goods,” said police.

There were three male and five female miniature wire-haired dachshunds stolen from the kennels in Burton Road, Acresford.

The three male dogs and one female have now been recovered.

Apart from Shelley’s pets, the other two dogs found, which belong to the kennel owners, have been recovered in Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

Today Derbyshire Police said after Rummy was seized in Market Harborough: “This is the fourth dog to be located after the burglary in Burton Road, Acresford, on 10 February this year.

“Further enquiries are now being undertaken by Leicestershire officers as to the circumstances of how the dog ended up in Market Harborough."

Anyone with any information about the four outstanding dogs is asked to contact Derbyshire Police using any of the below methods, including reference 21*084142:

· Facebook – send a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary

· Twitter – direct message the contact centre on @DerPolContact

· Website – complete the online contact form at www.derbyshire.police.uk/ContactUs

· Phone – call us on 101.