Social media appeal locates stolen Dundee dog in England

A PENSIONER is to be reunited with a puppy stolen from his garden thanks to a social media appeal.

Rosco the dog has been found. Picture: Contributed

Leonard Ormond’s nine-month-old Border terrier Rosco was stolen from outside his home in Dundee last month by two men.

The 82-year-old noticed a grey van pull up beside his garden fence on the city’s Napier Drive.

He thought they were charity workers, but when he went to his front door to speak to them they had driven off and his pet.

The theft sparked a social media campaign, with one Facebook post receiving 1.8 million hits.

Little Rosco, who was wearing a collar with an ID tag, was registered as stolen on his microchip and police launched an investigation.

Rosco, who has been a companion for Mr Ormond since his wife Muriel went into hospital in June, was located in the south of England this week after the appeal was given information.

Their son Gordon, who lives in London, is picking up Rosco on Thursday before travelling to Dundee to reunite him with his father.

He told STV News: “He’s ecstatic. It’s been quite traumatic, especially when he had been standing watching by the window and couldn’t get out because he is too frail.

“Facebook was crazy - we had 1.8 million hits on one page alone, plus on the Missing Dogs pages.

“It’s unbelievable how many dogs are getting stolen. There must be hundreds being taken every year. It’s just shocking.”

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