A delighted dog owner has been reunited with her missing pet after appealing for help to find her in the Telegraph & Argus.

Linda Dixon, 47, of Nab Wood Drive, Shipley, received a call from Fleet Kennels in Queensbury, saying it had a 13-month-old pedigree beagle, Ruby.

The £850 dog had not been seen for three weeks after bogus charity collectors bundled her into a van.

Only days after Mrs Dixon told of her plight in the T&A, the dog was spotted wandering in Thornton. Mrs Dixon believes the people who stole her must have dumped her because of the publicity.

Ruby was captured when she jumped into a car and was trapped until the dog warden could pick her up.

Mrs Dixon said: “I can’t believe it. I thought I was never going to see her again.

“Someone has obviously been looking after her but after being in the T&A I think they have just dumped her. I am so relieved to have her but back but all the heartache they have caused for three weeks has been horrendous.

“I have rung the police and given the registration of the van and they are going to check it out.”

She thanked everyone who helped find Ruby, including the T&A and Doglost, particularly Caroline Reynolds, who helped by putting up posters. “The help we have had is fantastic,” she said.