Police have confirmed that a miniature dachshund named Twiglet has been reunited with her owner after she was stolen by a burglar.
A burglary in Saffron Walden on Wednesday (26 July) ended with the culprit picking up the homeowner's dog and stealing her away.
CCTV footage released by Essex police showed the dog running into the room with the burglar and barking at the intruder while an alarm blared in the background.
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The burglar, who the camera showed was armed with a hammer during their crime, then cornered the poor pooch and picked her up while she was making as much noise as she could.
The miniature dachshund tried to struggle and squirm away but the burglar was able to grab Twiglet and escape from the house, using their hand to clamp the dog's mouth shut.
The distressing footage was used as part of a police appeal for help in finding Twiglet and reuniting the dog with her owner, and thankfully person and pooch are back together again.
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Police say that a member of the public contacted the person who had been burgled after seeing their appeal to find Twiglet and was able to tip them off.
Contact was made last night (27 July) and police were happy to announce that the miniature dachshund who was stolen in the burglary was back with her owner and unharmed.
Essex police thanked the public for their help in getting the dog back to her owner and said their investigation into the burglary was ongoing.
They said the house was broken into at around 3pm on 26 July, with CCTV showing a man smashing the patio door with a hammer to get inside the house before stealing the 16-month old dog.
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Their enquiries are ongoing and nobody has been arrested in connection with the crime as of yet.
Police are still welcoming any information from the public which could help them track down the burglar and have asked people who can help them to quote incident 739 of 26 July so their vital information can make it to the right people.
Before Twiglet was reunited with her owner further appeals on social media had been made to get her picture out there and made the stolen dog 'too hot to handle' for the burglar.
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Thankfully Twiglet and her owner were brought together again quickly as some people never get their pets back and others have to wait a very long time before seeing their beloved animal companions again.
A woman once gave up her pet dog after learning that the pooch had actually been stolen from another family seven years ago.
Joe Harker