A stolen therapy dog has been reunited with his owners after being found by police - and the heartwarming moment has captured by the officer's body cam.
In the clip, seventeen-month-old Ollie, belonging to owners Mark and Paula, is seen searching around his house for his beloved family.
After spotting Paula, the cocker spaniel rushes into the embrace her as she picked him up in her arms.
Ollie could be seen wagging his tail in joy as Paula sheds tears of joy in the sweet reunion.
The dog had been stolen from a kennel in Rye, East Sussex on March 31, sparking a police investigation and a huge dog hunt on social media.
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An extensive search was carried out, including the proactive arrest of a suspect by neighbourhood response officers in Hastings, who was later released with no further action.
A week later, the owner of a house in Brands Hatch, Kent heard a scratching and whining sound at their back door- coming from a small, tan-coloured cocker spaniel.
The quick-thinking rescuer contacted Battersea Dogs Home, who identified Ollie from the numerous online appeals.
They then got in touch with Ollie’s owners, who contacted Sussex Police.
A scan of the dog’s microchip confirmed that it indeed was Ollie and he was safely returned to his owners.
Ollie’s owner Mark said: “This week has been the worst nightmare of my life.
“Ollie was bought as a therapy dog for my wife and him going missing absolutely destroyed her – she hadn’t stopped crying since last Thursday.
“Now she’s like a changed woman! Yesterday she’s happy, bubbly, we may even have polished off a couple of bottles of wine.
And thankfully Ollie’s fine – probably a bit shell-shocked – but no injuries.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone involved.
“All the appeals on social media, everyone who shared them and the police for their investigation – I know how much they’ve been doing behind the scenes.”
Online many people were overjoyed watching the reunion video.
Debbie Williams said: “So lovely to see this, thank you for sharing Ollie and his owners being reunited.”
Judith Mayman said: “Aww that's absolutely beautiful, so glad Ollie is back with his owners safe and sound.”
Pamela Featherstone added: “Fantastic News, he really loves his human family.
“I wish many more dogs & cats are reunited! Happy for this family.”
Sergeant Jon Attfield, of Heathfield Police said: “Myself and PC Zoe King were delighted to be able to reunite Ollie with Mark and Paula, who have been so supportive in what has been a horrific week for them.
“It’s highly likely that Ollie’s captors have been forced to release him after a combination of extensive social media coverage and proactive work by officers from multiple policing teams simply made him too hot to handle.
“Luckily, Ollie has then had the good sense to make his way into someone’s back garden.
“The moment we saw Ollie in Brands Hatch we knew it was him, and it was such a pleasure to see him happy and healthy back at home.
“I’d like to thank everybody who shared appeals for information and all the people who supported this investigation.”
Do you have a cute dog story to sell? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
