Lucy Devine
Dog owners are being warned to look out for a dognapping 'stroking technique' which saw two men steal a woman's French bulldog in broad daylight.
Caroline Busby, 60, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was walking one-year-old Luna near her home when she was stopped by two men.
Harrowing CCTV footage from a nearby property shows the pair hiding behind a fence while they waited for Caroline and Luna to walk by.
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You can watch the video below:
The pair pretended to be interested in Luna, engaging in a conversation before kneeling down to stroke the pup. They then quickly unhooked her collar and ran way.
Caroline's devastated family frantically searched for Luna, before posting footage of the men on Facebook. Luckily, 24 hours later police found Luna wandering on her own eight miles away.
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Caroline’s daughter Kirsty Groves, 34, said: "You can see on the CCTV that they are crouched down, waiting for her to come around the corner.
"My mum thought maybe they were doing their shoelaces or something. They turned her over to presumably see if she was a male or female, and they asked my mum how old the dog was. She told them she was only one.
"Then they just unclipped her and ran. They had been hiding in a bush, my mum didn't even see them."
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Kirsty added: "We've not slept. We are both still in shock. My mum's dog is my mum's best friend, she's not just a dog. It is a family pet. They are part of your family.
"She is nervous wreck. She doesn't want to walk her dog anymore alone; she has to go with friends. She will not go on her own ever again.
"She's a defenceless 60-year-old woman, it's so unfair. I live away and I am worried about my mum and if anything like this will happen again.
"We are really angry someone has made my mum feel this way. What is wrong with people? Truly awful."
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Kirsty went on to explain that the family are lucky to have little Luna home.
"We can only think that the theft was purely down to money. French bulldogs are expensive," she added.
"We even took extra precautions when I brought her the dog because of this.
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"I got my mum a panic alarm to take on her walks with her and she was insured as much as she could be, but this still happened."
West Mercia Police are working to find the dognappers responsible for taking Luna.
A spokesperson said: "Two males in their early twenties seen running towards Mayfield Road carrying the dog in their arms.
"Police are continuing with their investigations and are determined to track down the offenders.”