Blackburn boy reunited with his stolen pug (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn boy reunited with his stolen pug

2:30pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in Blackburn

A SIX-year-old boy is celebrating the return of his dog after an appeal in the Lancashire Telegraph.

Levi Elliott, of Infirmary Street, Blackburn, made a plea to the two thieves caught on CCTV calmly walking off with seven-year-old pug Oliver after stealing him from the family’s back garden on Monday afternoon.

After the article was published a 20-year-old man contacted police after finding Oliver wandering near the Leeds Liverpool Canal in Ewood.

Dad Mark Elliott, 37, said: “I was at the police station anyway, going through the CCTV, when they brought Oliver back.

“I got on the phone to the school and told Levi, and he’s overjoyed. He’s been very concerned, as have the rest of us, because Oliver doesn’t like going out much if it’s very rainy or very sunny.

“He seems okay physically, but he’s a bit startled and he’s not eating properly.”

“Without the Lancashire Telegraph, I don’t think we’d have got Oliver back so soon. I think someone’s seen the front page, panicked, and dumped him by the canal.

“It might seem nothing to them to steal a dog, but he’s everything to Levi, and I’m so relieved and pleased for him.

“I hope they catch whoever has done this. It serves as a warning to anyone else who thinks it’s okay to steal a dog.”

Mr Elliott, a student at Blackburn University, said he will be buying CCTV cameras for his back garden and will be monitoring Oliver more closely.

No arrests have been made in connection to the case, and police inquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.

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