Dog owner's relief after social media campaign sees her reunited with stolen pups
Video report by Hannah Thomas
A farmer from Monmouth was overjoyed to be reunited with her four border collie puppies after they were stolen.
Nerys Lewis is among just 22% of people in Britain who get their stolen puppies back.
After a social media campaign to get Nerys' puppies returned, it is thought the thieves dumped them in a field in Brecon - 40 miles from their home. A passerby heard the dogs and managed to trace them back to Nerys.
Nerys' father, John Lewis said if it was not for the social media campaign "probably frightening the people who took them - we would probably have never seen them again."
Nerys said the dogs were "exhausted" when they returned.
"All they did was sleep... It's so frustrating. You've got to be on alert all the time, and there's always somebody about. You don't know who's driving by. It's happening more and more and there's not a lot you can do about it."
Since lockdown began, Wales has seen a dramatic rise in the number of dog thefts. One charity which reunites missing dogs with their owners said that between March and June the number of reported incidents rose by 65% compared with last year.
On average, six dogs a day are stolen in Wales and England.
Pedigree dogs can often be worth thousands of pounds each and working dogs like border collies are also prize assets.
Lisa Cooper from Dogs Trust said there has been an increased demand for dogs during lockdown, which could be why more dogs are being stolen.
"We hear that people can't get dogs through breeders because there just aren't the puppies around. And so the prices are going up. Especially for desirable breeds. I think this is always going to increase the chances of people taking a risk and stealing people's dogs."