£1,000 show dog snatched from Brownhills home
A show dog worth £1,000 has been stolen from kennels in Brownhills, leaving its owner devastated.
Pedigree pooch Ellie was snatched from Lindridge Cocker Spaniels by thieves who broke in through a lock to get into the pen where she was being kept.
Dog breeders Ken and Angela Hackett have been left devastated by the loss.
Mrs Hackett said: "We are really upset about it and just desperate to get her back. We are just devastated to lose a dog and she was only young.
"They are like our children."
The retired couple have been breeding dogs for more than 40 years and built their kennels at the top of the back garden at their home in Chester Road.
They suspect the culprits knew exactly what they were looking for in targeting two-year-old Ellie - also affectionately called Lindridge Cup Cake - as she was one of the top performing dogs out of the six on site at the time.
Mrs Hackett said: "She had done well at the shows, she had got reserve tickets and qualified in a few competitions.
"She was not quite a champion yet but she was well on her way.
"She was the only Orange Roan breed in the kennels and none of the other five were disturbed.
"I went up the garden on Monday morning and saw the lock had been knocked off.
"I was just in shock. My reaction was one of horror when I saw they had taken her."
Mrs Hackett added: "It's the emotional attachment and the care we have put into her that is the hardest thing to deal with.
"But for a puppy she was probably worth between £900 to £1,000.
"I know show dogs get stolen but I haven't known it around this area for a long time.
"We just want to make other people aware this sort of thing is going on and people are doing this."
The couple have contacted the police as well as Midlands-based K9 Search UK which provides a database of lost dogs in the region.
The break-in happened on Sunday night.
Anyone with information should contact Lindridge Cocker Spaniels on 01543 375700 or K9 Search UK on 07988 433187.
