A TREASURED family pet has been returned to his owners, two weeks after going missing.

The gentle Staffordshire bull terrier is thought to have been stolen.

Mr Karl McLoughlin, 22, and his wife Gaynor,21, were celebrating after the five-year-old dog was returned to their home in Windsor Grove, Halliwell by a man who said he had bought him.

Mr McLoughlin said: "The man who brought him back appeared genuine and seems to have bought my dog in good faith. When he heard that he was my dog he brought him back."

The BEN featured a picture of the dog, who was not named to prevent a new 'owner' being able to claim him, and Mr McLoughlin's toddler son, Layton, who was desperately missing the family pet.

Barbara Green, from the Farnworth branch of The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue Group, appealed for anyone with information to contact her and she received around 15 telephone calls, some of them anonymous, from people who thought they had seen the dog.

Mr McLoughlin toured the Bolton area, following the tip-offs, in an attempt to find his dog, who had gone missing from outside the family home. Mrs Green said: "The dog eventually became too hot to handle because of the publicity."

She said it was important for people with dogs, particularly Staffordshires, to keep a close watch on them.

She added: "People should realise they can't leave dogs in their gardens or at the front of their homes, without watching them."

Staffordshire bull terrier puppies can cost several hundred pounds to buy, making them very valuable dogs, explained Mrs Green.

The rescue group will be paying for the dog, who has suffered minor injuries, to have treatment. Mrs Green said: "His owner has spent so much money travelling around following the leads that we felt we should help him by paying for a vet to treat the dog. "He will perhaps need a treatment of antibiotics to get him back to normal again."

Mr McLoughlin said he was "delighted" to have his dog home again. He said: "When he came back he just ran into the house obviously pleased to be home. He seems to be suffering from stress because of what has happened to him but we are all so pleased to have him back."

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