AN ELDERLY woman has been reunited with her beloved Corgi, after she was stolen during a burglary in Hampshire.

Last month, heartless dog thieves crept into Barbara Parker-Miligan’s home in Yateley Hampshire, whilst her son was collecting her prescription and weekly shopping.

The burglars snatched the Barbara’s ginger and white Corgi, Amber, leaving the 95-year-old so traumatised that she collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital.

Barbara’s son, Douglas Embelton, 65, called in the help of pet detective Collin Butcher after he felt Hampshire police were not doing enough to find Amber.

The former detective inspector set up the UK Pet Detective Agency after more than 17 years in the Surrey and Metropolitan Police forces.

Now thankfully, after weeks of investigative work from Mr Butcher, Amber is home safely.

In a social media post Mr Butcher wrote: “The 'whole' community of Yateley have been amazing and every single piece of information given has assisted me in my investigation. A very happy and immensely relieved 95 year-old-woman will sleep well tonight.”

However, the detective shared his disappointment in Hampshire police during a radio interview over the weekend.

He claimed on BBC Radio 5 Live that Hampshire police are not taking dog napping seriously enough.

He told presenters on Sunday morning: “I didn’t get any help from Hampshire police and the lead on dog theft in that county said there is not a problem with dog theft in Hampshire. Well, I wouldn’t be busy in their county if that were accurate.”

Hampshire police claim that dog thefts in the county are not at the level they appear to be online but have urged dog owners to be vigilant.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “We received a report of a burglary at an address on Firgrove Road, Yateley, on 26 February 2021. A corgi was stolen in the burglary but has since been located by a member of the public and returned to the owner.

“A 23-year-old man from Ash, Surrey, has been interviewed under caution in relation to this investigation. He remains under investigation as enquiries continue.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we wouldn’t routinely issue information to a third party.

“We would encourage dog owners to always be vigilant and take precautions to keep their pets safe. We fully understand people's concerns about the reports of thefts and attempted thefts of dogs they are seeing online. All reports we receive are fully investigated, although we are not seeing this reported to us on the level it is being discussed online.”

The pet detective has also helped recover stolen cats, racehorses, alpacas, parrots, snakes, hamsters, sheep, and birds during his career.

When asked what dogs are most at risk from theft, he replied: “Every dog is at risk and the reason for that is that we have seen a significant increase in so called dog napping offences or the ransom demands.

“Where the thief will steal any dog, they will sit and hold on to that dog for a couple of weeks and wait for a reward to be posted.

“Then they contact the owner and say look I’m prepared to get this dog back for you but I don’t want any police interaction, I don’t want any come backs. And [the owners] are effectively buying the dog back from the thief’s which is tragic really.”

To help put worried owners at ease he has created a video explaining how specialist dog thieves commit offences and what you can do to keep safe on daily walks.

To watch the video click here or visit the UK Pet Detective Agency here.