Thieves return pedigree bulldogs

Thieves returned the seven puppies by leaving them in a car park

Thieves have returned nine dogs, including seven bulldog puppies, they stole from a house in Cardiff.

Owner Trevor Dean reported the theft to police after thieves broke into kennels at the back of his house in the Llanedeyrn area on Wednesday.

But after publicity about the theft, the dogs were returned safe and well.

Mr Dean took an anonymous phonecall on Friday telling him to visit a local car park where he found his pets. He said he feels "very lucky".

The stolen dogs included Mr Dean's British Bulldog bitch Rocket, his French Bulldog Whoopie and the litter of pedigree puppies.

The dogs were stolen as between them they had a market value of around £20,000 with each of the five-week-old puppies worth £2,000.

I'm very lucky and I can't really believe I've got them back Owner Trevor Dean

The dogs were stolen from their kennels at the back of his home in Hill Rise after thieves smashed a window with a paving slab to get to them.

The 32-year-old taxi driver believes the thieves realised publicity about the dogs had reached breeders and other owners and led to their return.

"I got a phonecall at about 1330 BST on Friday and someone told me to meet them up at the Traveller's Rest on the Wenallt and they would give me my dogs back.

"So I drove up there straight away and there they were.

"I've taken them to the vets and they've all been given a clean bill of health and they haven't been harmed.

"The thieves must have realised that they weren't going to be able to sell them on because everyone knew about the theft.

Rocket and Whoopie have now been returned to their family's delight

"Everyone in Cardiff knew about it and breeders as far away as Carmarthen and right across south Wales knew as well.

"I'm very lucky and I can't really believe I've got them back."

Mr Dean said his son Joseph had been badly affected by the family pets being stolen.

He said the five-year-old had been asking and crying for Whoopie and Rocket in the days since they had gone missing but was overjoyed at hearing about their return.

"My boy woke up screaming this morning because he'd been having nightmares about the dogs being stolen," explained Mr Dean.

"But when he came back from school and I told him the dogs were back he was over the moon."