Dogs stolen after puppy reward offer

Two dogs snatched from a Highland village may have originally been stolen three months ago. Police are investigating after the American Bullystyle dogs were taken from the Gairloch area at about 7.10pm on Monday night.

But now it has emerged the pair might be from a litter of five three-monthold pups stolen from Cambridge on May 25.

A social media campaign has been running to find the five dogs, with the owners – and their followers – seemingly tracing the culprits to Scotland.

Now it is feared the offer of a cash reward may have prompted someone to take action.

Police said the Gairloch theft appears to have been “targeted”.

One dog was taken from an address on the A832 Cromarty to Gairloch road and the other while it was being walked on an unnamed road near the entrance to the harbour. Both dogs are from the same household.

Two women were assaulted before the dognappers fled in a white Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Police found the car abandoned in Dingwall, and one of the dogs was discovered a short distance away. However, the second is still missing.

The two men responsible are described as white, in their 20s, with short brown hair. One was wearing a black jumper and shorts, while the other was slim.

The owners of the missing Cambridge litter insisted that they had nothing to do with the incident, and are desperately waiting for an update from police.

Detective Inspector Ross Hamill said: “Neither woman suffered any serious injuries during this incident, though they were both left extremely shaken.

“Our investigation is at an early stage but it appears this was targeted attack aimed at stealing these dogs and not a random incident.

“The vehicle is believed to have been driven on the A832 and A835 before it was abandoned in Dingwall, so if you have any dash-cam footage from the road on Monday evening, then please get in touch.”

SNATCHED: One of the American Bully-style dogs, also below with the other dog taken.