Stolen dog reunited with owner in Somerset after four years apart

Edith the dog went missing from outside her home in Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire when she was a nine-month-old puppy. Credit: Emma Hall

A cocker spaniel has been reunited with her owner in Somerset four years to the day since she was stolen from her Gloucestershire home.

Edith went missing from outside her home in Wotton-under-Edge on 22 March 2018 when she was a seven-month-old puppy.

Exactly four years later - on her the 12th birthday of her owner's daughter - Edith was reunited with the family.

Her owners, Emma and Andy Hall, had been tirelessly campaigning on social media to find Edith.

They never gave up hope of finding the cocker spaniel, even years after the puppy was stolen.

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Emma said she was thrilled to receive a call from a local vets in Martock who had checked Edith's microchip and traced her back to her family.

Edith had been brought into the vets by a woman from Yeovil in Somerset who had been looking after her for the previous two weeks.

Emma said: "We received a phone call out of the blue to say Edith had been found and couldn’t really believe it.

"There were lots of tears and we were ecstatic, over the moon. To be honest after about six months to a year, we thought we’d never see her again and we were in shock.

"But what a beautiful surprise and of course the best birthday present for my daughter."

She announced the good news on the Facebook group which was dedicated to help find the puppy.

She said: "Amazing news after four years. Four years ago Edith was taken from us and today we have her home safe.

"We cannot believe it. Thank you for the continued support and help in trying to find her."

After years away from their much-loved pet, Emma says the family are looking forward to making up for lost time with plenty of cuddles.

Pet theft became a criminal offence in September 2021. The government website says this new law will "recognise the welfare of animals and that pets are valued as more than property."

Pet microchip databases were also made more accessible under the new law, so it makes chipped pets like Edith much more traceable.

This means if pets with microchips are brought into vet practices it will be easier to reunite them with their owners.