BURGLARS broke into a house in Tonge Moor and made off with more than £1,000 of electrical items — and the family dog.

Gemma Moore, aged 23, returned home to her house in Tintern Avenue on Tuesday afternoon to find that thieves had used a rock to smash a glass panel in her door.

They stole electrical goods including an iPad, an Xbox, headphones and a mobile phone.

But she was far more distraught to find out that her American bulldog, Coby, was also missing.

Miss Moore said: “I only really cared about Coby, much more than the other stuff, so I called the police straight away.

“You can replace the other stuff but Coby is part of the family. I couldn’t sleep that night — we have only had him since October and he is such a lovely, dog. I just thought it was such a horrible and cruel thing to do to take him.”

The 23-year-old, who lives at the house with her partner, said she was told by two people that Coby had been spotted being walked by a young man in the local area.

Yesterday afternoon, she received a call from a nearby dog shelter which said a man had handed Coby in.

She said: “I’m so happy that he is back.

“I was just told that a man handed him in, so he could have been the person who broke in — we don’t know.

“He doesn’t seem to be too bothered by the whole thing — he has spent the whole day sleeping.”

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “On Tuesday at some point between 7.10am and 1.50pm, a person used a rock to smash a glass panel and enter the house where they stole a number of electrical goods and a 20-week-old American bulldog.

“No arrests have been made at this stage and inquiries are ongoing.”