Reward to catch dog thieves

Jess was a very important member of the Parkinson family

A reward to catch thieves who stole a specially trained search and rescue dog and then left her to be run over has reached £12,000.

Seven-month-old Jess was taken from her home in the village of Ringmer, near Lewes in East Sussex.

But because the animal had a tattooed ear which identified her it is thought she was dumped on a road five miles away where she was run over and killed.

The idea of a reward was put up by Obedience UK - a website visited by people involved with search and rescue and dog training

A large chunk of the money - about £9,000 - was donated anonymously by a local businessman with the rest raised through the website.

Jess' owner Geoff Parkinson, who is a firefighter, said it felt like he had "lost a friend" when his pet was stolen.

He said: "Hopefully the money will encourage people to come forward with information that will lead to prosecution.

Earthquake training

"What has happened to Jess has been done and there is nothing that can be done to change that.

"I think it affected dozens of people because of the way it happened. It has highlighted just how many dogs are being taken."

Jess, who was a grey and white Tri Border Collie, was in the process of being trained to help locate people who are trapped in collapsed houses or earthquakes either in Britain or abroad.

Mr Parkinson, who is station manager of Uckfield and Hailsham fire stations, has been involved with the search and rescue charity Rapid UK for five years.