Woman's joy as dogs stolen in Essex six months ago turn up in Doncaster

A dog owner has spoken of her delight after her two beloved pets stolen six months ago in Essex are back with her after turning up in Doncaster.
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Kelly Green had never given up hope of being reunited with her French Bulldog puppies after they were snatched from her home in Grays shortly before Christmas.

But in an amazing twist, the dogs turned up six months later and 180 miles away after being spotted wandering in Thorne near Doncaster.

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An overjoyed Kelly said: “I can’t put into words how happy we are.

Kelly Green is reunited with her dogs.Kelly Green is reunited with her dogs.
Kelly Green is reunited with her dogs.

“We have our babies home!

“A massive thank you to everyone who shared my Facebook posts, without your help we might never have seen them again.”

And it was determined Doncaster duo Natasha Stones and Natalie Wilkinson who helped reunite Kelly with the pups, a Blue Merle French Bulldog called Missy and a Lilac Brindle called Boi Boi.

The pair saw a video posted on social media last week showing dogs loose near Thorne Canal.

Natalie Wilkinson, Natasha Stones and Lewis Brown were instrumental in reuniting Kelly with her dogs.Natalie Wilkinson, Natasha Stones and Lewis Brown were instrumental in reuniting Kelly with her dogs.
Natalie Wilkinson, Natasha Stones and Lewis Brown were instrumental in reuniting Kelly with her dogs.
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She said: “We decided to have a drive to see if we could find the dogs.

“After driving round, we gave in but then decided one last drive by was needed and that’s when we spotted the two French bull dogs.

“One was hurt and bleeding and timid, the other came straight to us and jumped into the car.

“I decided to take them home where I knew they would be safe.”

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Natalie’s friend, Lewis Brown, owner of a dog kennels, posted that the dogs had been found on social media – and gradually it was discovered that the dogs had been stolen in a house raid in Essex on December 17 last year.

Added Natalie: “It is four hours away from where I found them and this couldn’t be them I thought, so we studied the dogs’ faces.

“We noticed Missi has a white patch on her eye and so did the missing dog. From there we were convinced these dogs were Kelly’s.

“We spoke on the phone and we both got upset at the possibility of these dogs being hers.

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“She sent over their chip codes and they matched up when we checked them.

“We video chatted Kelly instantly and the relief was clear to see. She suffers with MS and these dogs are her babies.”

Kelly and husband Howard instantly drove from Grays to collect the dogs from Natalie’s home in Arksey.

She said: “The dogs’ reaction was priceless and something no one will forget!

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“The video has been a hit on social media with 30,000 views in 12 hours with well wishers from all over the country. Good things happen to good people.”

At the time of the theft, Kelly said: "They mean everything to me, I wouldn't get through a day without them. Because of my MS and I'm severely disabled I don't really get out the house much.

"They sleep in our beds -we didn't want to get in bed last night because they are not there."

Added Kelly: “I can’t thank Lewis and Natalie enough for finding my babies, for keeping them safe and then for finding me. You will forever be my heroes.”

The dogs were stolen, along with a safe.

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Anyone with information about the theft should contact Grays CID on 101, quoting incident 713 of 17 December.

Information can also be given completely anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org

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