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Crime

29th Nov 2021

Shocking footage shows moment masked men break into home to steal pet dog

Steve Hopkins

Queenie was snatched while her owner was on a playdate with three children

This is the heartbreaking moment a pet dog was snatched from her home by masked men.

American Bulldog, Queenie, was dragged out of her home by her hind legs while her owner, Chloe Moore, was on a playdate with her three kids at 10am.

CCTV shows the 11-month-old pup being stolen from the house by a masked man while another keeps watch.

They then disappear off down the road, before bundling Queenie into a van and driving away.

American bulldogs are targeted by thieves for sale and breeding.

But thankfully there’s a happy ending to this sad tail, Queenie was later reunited with her owners following a family Facebook campaign.

Chloe’s brother, influencer Jude Moore, who has more than 50,000 followers on Facebook, also made a desperate appeal.

Just 48 hours after Queenie went missing, on November 22, it was announced the pet had been returned.

The heart-warming moment Queenie was reunited with the family’s other dog, Hendricks, was caught on camera and shows the pooch wagging its tail playfully and jumping up and down.

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Chloe, from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: “Obviously I was over the moon when we got her back, but that relief has quickly turned to anger at how someone could do this to our family.”

The 37-year-old added: “Her paws are usually so soft but from where she’s been dragged along the concrete they’re now like cheese graters.

“I truly believe that our Queenie was too hot to handle because social media went absolutely crazy.”

Chloe said her Facebook appeal was shared 1.8 million times.

Queenie, Chloe said, is now “extremely scared to go out anywhere – I can’t take her for a walk or get her in the car; she’s just so frightened”.

She added. “All we can do is try and comfort her and slowly try and get her back to the way she was – but with everything she’s gone through it’s not going to be easy.”

Essex Police arrested a woman on suspicion of burglary, who has since been released while investigations continue.