THREE stolen puppies have been returned safely to their owner - but only for a cash ransom. The 10-week-old dogs vanished without trace from the garden of their home on the A339 at Kingsclere late last Friday afternoon. They were in the garden with their mothers and a fourth pup, who managed to escape capture. All home-reared pedigrees, two of the stolen pups were rare Griffon Bruxellois and the other a black- and-white Japanese Chin. Their distraught owner, a well-known and respected dog breeder and a member of the Kennel Club, immediately telephoned the police and DogLost - a charitable organisation set up to foil dog-nappers by posting out information on the internet. Friends also rallied round and within hours pictures of the missing puppies were on the walls and in windows of pet shops and veterinary surgeons across north Hampshire. According to friend, Carol Ritchie, the canine grapevine was "a-buzz" with investigative anxiety. But it was the thieves themselves who chose to return the pups. On Tuesday, the pups arrived home, safe but dishevelled, after the owner parted with an undisclosed sum of money. While unwilling to be named for fear of reprisal, she has decided to publicise some details to alert other dog owners to the fact that dog-nappers are working in the area and to keep a watchful eye on their animals. • DogLost can be contacted via its website at http://www.doglost.co.uk">www.doglost.co.uk
