'Devastated' Doncaster children offer pocket money as reward in search for stolen family dog

Lenny and Autumn Kirby, six and five, of Hampole, have made the appeal after their beloved pet fell terrier Mig was stolen from their garden on November 24.

Police are searching the area for eight-year-old Mig, however have had no luck so far.

The children’s father Peter Kirby said: “The children are devastated. There has been a lot of tears. I have had Mig for eight years, so he has been a part of their lives since they were born.

"They have made posters and offered their money of their own accord. My partner Lucy went upstairs to put them to bed and found them making the posters.

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"On November 24 Lucy saw a man in khaki mooching around our garden at 9.13am and called the police. The police told her to stay inside. Lucy rang me up and by the time I got home the dog had gone.”

Mig was stolen from the family home, which is a cottage on the A638 between Hampole and South Elmshall.

"I doesn’t make any sense to me,” Peter added. “Prices of dogs during the pandemic have risen a lot, but Mig is an old dog.

"To get to the terrier in the corner the thief walked past a high value labrador, a high value springer spaniel and a racing greyhound.

"It has been a week now. Hopefully Mig is getting too hot to handle and he gets handed in. But you just don’t know.”

The theft of Mig is the latest in a spate of dog thefts which has Doncaster residents concerned for the safety of their animals.

Dawn Glover, a local resident who helps with lost dog social media groups, said: “It’s getting out of hand how many dogs are getting stolen from people’s gardens, cars and shops. They are getting taken even when they are out for walks.

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"The South Yorkshire area seems to be suffering. They get stolen for bait, breeding, to sell on and now it seems for rewards as well.

“It’s an easy crime as claim the reward, no questions asked.

“We share thousands of times on Facebook to try to help find the dogs but the older generation are oblivious to it. They still think it’s safe to tie up outside shops when they nip in to buy a paper or milk.

“We need to find a way to get the message over to all dog owners that it’s not safe to leave dogs anywhere.

"All the stolen dogs get reported but it’s not a priority case as dogs at moment are only classed as an item.”

Mr Kirby added: “I just wish there was tougher sentences to put people off. Not a lot seems to be done at the moment.”

If you have any information about Mig you can contact Peter Kirby on 07774249589.