Two stolen puppies returned as search continues

Another two of seven puppies stolen from a family late last year have been found after they were handed into vets but police are "urgently" searching for two still missing.

Three of the lurchers were found on New Year's Eve after the seven were taken from a family in the Shroton area, near Blandford Forum, Dorset, late on 28 December.

The other two puppies most recently found were handed into a vets in Fordingbridge in Hampshire.

Dorset Police said a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and bailed.

Last month, a 28-year-old man from east Dorset and a woman, 22, from Wimborne, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and bailed.

PC Kate Schofield, of Dorset Police, said officers were "delighted" with the recent find and that the family had been "elated to hear this welcome news".

But she said officers "urgently need to find and bring home" the other two.

"Should you become aware of their location, we would urge you to get in contact," PC Schofield said.

"Due to the large public attention on this matter, it may be that these puppies are discarded or being offered for sale in suspicious circumstances, and we ask the public to remain vigilant and get in contact with any possible information.

"This investigation is very much live as we continue to pursue every available line of enquiry available to us – including liaising with neighbouring forces – to both find the final two missing puppies and establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident."

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