Rare breed dog and pups stolen in Tyrone

The dogs are of the Patterdale breed, all black in colour and are approximately the same shape and size as a Jack Russell.

The female dog called Maggie and her five pups, four male and one female, were taken from the rear yard of a house on Main Street between the hours of 2.15am and 5.45am on Thursday.

The pups were only nine days old when they were stolen while their mother is aged around 18months.

Stephanie Meenagh told UTV: "My father went out to feed them, to give them milk at 5.45am and they were gone."

She said he was "very shocked," adding that her mother had been out checking on them only a few hours earlier.

"The pups were only born last Monday," she added, "their wee eyes were still shut."

Stephanie said that although the rare breed animals may have been worth a lot of money because of their pedigree, they were their family pets.