Two dogs stolen from a home in Oxfordshire were recovered from a travellers camp in Tadley.
Retired teacher Liz Scoates, 63, who breeds rare Tibetan spaniels with Heather Simper, 64, described her devastation as she watched her six pooches bundled into a van by four men at her home in Didcot on December 27.
“I could see them carrying the dogs, I took off across the field. I was shouting and alerted them and they managed to get away by the time I got back,” said Liz.
“It’s torture seeing something of yours been taken and not being able to do anything about.”
Following the raid the pair set up a Facebook page in a bid to help find the dogs.
More than 2,300 people have signed up and members have been swamping the social networking site with tip-offs and distributing pictures of the pooches.
Following comments left on the site, police raided a travellers camp in Tadley where they found three-year-old Harriet tethered outside a caravan.
And two-year-old Gus, who last year scooped the Top Tibetan spaniel at the Dog World Top Dog Competition, was also found at the camp.
A third dog, Ivy, turned up at the backdoor step of their farm in Didcot. Liz said she believes the dog had escape the clutches of the thieves as they made their escape.
Three dogs are still missing, Gladys, two, and seven-month-old puppies Alice and Amy.
Liz, who has been breeding and showing dogs for 40 years, said: “The support we have had has been fantastic. We are a nation of dog lovers. People put themselves in our situation and think ‘What would I do if my dog were stolen?’
“We have been so grateful for the help people have been offering to help us get our dogs back.”
