Dog snatcher demands £5k

A SERIAL dog thief snatched a pregnant pet before demanding a £5,000 ransom from the distressed owner.

The bearded man – who was driving an old Land Rover Discovery – grabbed the four-year-old shih tzu-chihuahua cross from a garden in the Raploch area of Stirling on Saturday.

The same man is also believed to have then travelled to Dunblane, where some time between 2pm and 3.30pm he stole a five-month-old husky puppy that was tied up outside a caravan at a petrol station.

Police said they were now hunting the suspect and urged anyone with information about the dark-blue 4x4, bearing a 3D registration plate at the back, to get in touch.

The man is described as a white male in his late 30s, heavily built and around 5ft 10in.

He has long brown hair and a beard and was wearing a yellow high-vis waistcoat and jeans. He may have been accompanied by a young boy.

Owner Catlin McKenna, 24, was horrified to find out that her shih tzu-chihuahua cross Minnie had been taken.

Miss McKenna believes Minnie will be too difficult to sell because she has a distinctive underbite.

The mother of one said: ‘I’m at my wits’ end after losing Minnie on Saturday. I just can’t believe someone would stoop so low as to steal a family pet from a garden.

‘She means everything to us and I treat her like she’s one of my children.

‘She was staying at my ex-partner’s home and this scumbag just pulled up in broad daylight in a Land Rover and grabbed her from the garden.

‘She is almost five and I have had her since she was a puppy, and to make matters worse she is expecting pups.

‘I just hope the guy has a conscience and hands her back as I believe it will be hard to sell her on as she has this lovely toothy grin due to her underbite – she is just so adorable.’

Miss McKenna added: ‘A few hours after taking her, the guy then got my mum’s number and phoned her up demanding £5,000 to get her back.

‘We don’t have that kind of money but I would do anything to have her returned. We miss her so much it hurts.’

Police Scotland said both incidents were being investigated.