Dear Santa, all I want for Xmas is my stolen dog back
HE should be dreaming of a Christmas stocking filled with toys and games.
Instead, there is just one thing little Edward Latter wants – his dog back. Edward, who turns three on Saturday, has written a heart-rending letter to Santa asking for the return of his beloved pet, Morse.
He wrote the note after the black and brown border terrier was stolen by a couple in a Toyota pick-up truck.
The thieves spotted ninemonth-old Morse on the street near his home in Marden, Kent, last Wednesday. They brazenly told a local who tried to intervene that they ‘knew the owner’ before driving off with him.
After the dognapping, Edward helped his parents Richard Latter and Amanda Hopkins put up missing posters. When that and a social media campaign failed to bring Morse back, he put pen to paper – with the help of his dad.
‘Dear Father Christmas, I just want one present for Christmas this year, my dog Morse back,’ he wrote. ‘I’ve been a very good boy all year. Thank you, Edward aged two and three-quarters.’
Mr Latter, 40, a West End theatre carpenter, said Edward is devastated by the loss of his friend. ‘He started asking, “Where’s Morse?”. It’s heartbreaking to hear him say it. They are such good pals.’
Solicitor Miss Hopkins, 43, named Morse after her favourite TV detective. The terrier likes to burrow under the garden fence but does not venture far. A woman rang to say she had seen Morse being abducted less than 100 yards from his home.
Mr Latter said: ‘She had stopped her car as she had seen Morse running down the road and was going to pick him up.
‘Almost in the same moment the chap got out of the Hiluxtype truck and picked him up, saying, “Don’t worry, the dog belongs to a friend of ours. We’ll take it back to them”. It was Edward’s idea to write to Santa and hopefully writing the letter will give us the happy ending we are so desperate for.’
They have offered an undisclosed reward for information leading to the return of Morse, who is microchipped.
‘Just take him to a vet’s or even just tie him up outside a shop and walk away,’ Mr Latter said. ‘It would mean the absolute world to us for Morse to be home in time for Christmas.’
Kent Police have appealed for anyone with information about Morse to contact them.