AN Ilkley resident is celebrating after being reunited with his beloved pet which he believes had been 'dognapped'.

Following the event Humphrey Boyle has been warning people to keep an eye on their animals which could be held to ransom.

His miniature dachsund called Mopsa disappeared from his large garden on Thursday last week.

Mr Boyle, who is a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire said: "We lost her after she ran down the path. After about 10 minutes Mrs Boyle and I who were in the garden clearing leaves, went in search and she was nowhere to be found.

"If she was off nosing about the garden we would have expected her back, because she was due to have her supper at 6.30pm and there was rain, which Mopsa does not like at all. We searched the surrounding area in Langbar until about midnight."

After their search was unsuccessful, Mr Boyle reported the dog missing to the police the next morning.

Mr Boyle added: "The garden is mostly surrounded by a high wall but where there is a fence we have carefully wired it, which has to be done very carefully to keep a miniature dachsund in the garden."

The dog's disappearance was so sudden that Mr and Mrs Boyle concluded that she had been 'dog napped' by professional dog thieves.

Mr Boyle also reported the dog missing on the internet, including a site called (DogLost.co.uk).

He said: "Since Mopsa went on, there have been nearly 100 messages from well wishers - I could hardly bear to read them and I realised that many people have been going through the hell of losing a much -loved pet.

"Thieves often ask for ransoms rather than sell the pet on, and they are

particularly ruthless targeting quite poor people, as they realise the desperate owners will sell important possessions to get their pets back."

But an unexpected surprise occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning. Mr Boyle said: "We heard a bark, my wife went down in her night-dress and called and the dog came running in, cold, very hungry but extraordinarily, reasonably dry.

"I cannot believe she spent the missing hours on the moor or down a rabbit hole as she would have smelt of wet earth. Nor could she have escaped from the garden without help on Thursday evening.

"She must have been considered too unusual in colouring for the thieves and as she was on four web sites, might well have been spotted. We have sent a donation to DogLost.co.uk as they are purely voluntary.

Mopsa, who is recovering from her ordeal and has now been microchipped, is a longhaired miniature bitch of three-years-old. She is coloured black and tan with brindling.

Mr Boyle, 73, said: "I don't think the public know enough about these sites which do sterling and voluntary work on these nasty crimes. The police have not the resources to stop it happening although we got a very sympathetic hearing from Harrogate, Ilkley and Skipton.

"Our dog had lost 10 per cent of its weight. Jane, the DogLost web site owner, told me a dog, well looked after and devoted to its family, will not eat when kidnapped.

"Dog thieves also monitor the dog lost sites and seeing Mopsa's unusual colouring would mean that they could not sell her to Pet Shops.

"I am sure Mopsa was stolen. I have a strong feeling about this forgotten world with elderly, poor people selling their TV to get the dog back, with not much

interest from the police or the authorities - a world of great sadness and distress."