Dognapped: Motorbike thieves caught on camera grabbing a 16-week-old puppy from under owners' noses

"The raid was as well-planned, swift and clinical as any smash and grab" It seems they wanted to avenge the owner for some reasons


Anyone with information about Alfie's whereabouts is asked to call the police. Dog Lost can be contacted on 0844 800 3220.

The raid was as well-planned, swift and clinical as any smash and grab.
Two men roared up on a motorbike, one leapt off – and scooped up Alfie the spaniel puppy.

His owners looked on in stunned disbelief as the thief leapt back on the pillion and wedged the 16-week-old animal between him and the getaway rider before they sped off.

'It was over in seconds,' said 45-year-old Pauline Parsons. 'We are gutted. We've only had him for ten weeks.'

Stolen: Alfie was snatched in front of his owners by two men on a motorbike

A treasured photo of Alfie: Ashleigh Parsons pleads for help

Alfie, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel worth around £400, was seized from a playpen outside the family-run Metal Supermarket in West Bromwich.

Mrs Parsons and her husband Ian had noticed the motorbike pair riding around their trading estate but were taken by surprise when their pet was spirited away. 

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'It happened just ten feet from where we were standing,' said Mrs Parsons, from Brierley Hill. 'One of the men just jumped off and grabbed him by the neck.'

She said her daughters Ashleigh, 18, and Jordanne, 16, were 'heartbroken' at the loss of their pup.

Dog thieves: The dognappers are caught on CCTV after stealing Alfie

The incident last Thursday afternoon was captured on CCTV and the couple are appealing for help in finding the two thieves.

Mrs Parsons said one of them wore a helmet with a black star and  silver lining.

They were riding a scrambler-type machine with yellow wheels.

She added that the dog was microchipped, which will prevent him being passed on to a pet shop, though he could still be sold privately.

Devastated: Pauline with her puppy Alfie before he was stolen

She added: 'He's just gorgeous and a brilliant dog – really clever. The customers really took to him as he's a real character. Everybody turned soft when they saw him – even the biggest blokes were reduced to mush.'

She added: 'We have never had a puppy before. We decided to get one because we could take him to work with us.

'It felt like having a little baby when we first got him, and now it feels like we've lost a baby.'

She said the family were offering a reward for information leading to the pet's return.

As well as printing hundreds of posters, they have also knocked on doors in the neighbourhood and set up a Facebook group.

Mrs Parsons added that Alfie has a distinctive marking on his muzzle – half his top lip is brown while the other half is white. Jayne Hayes, founder of the charity Dog Lost, said the number of pedigree dogs being stolen had soared since the recession began.

'We see 150 to 200 cases a week. People just grab the dogs and sell them on and they get away with it because the police don't do much.

'I've never seen a theft like this before, though. This a worrying development, but there is definitely a market out there for expensive pedigree dogs like Alfie.'

• Anyone with information about Alfie's whereabouts is asked to call the police. Dog Lost can be contacted on 0844 800 3220.