A DOG owner is appealing for her beloved pet to be returned after he went missing while being walked in Poole.

Three-year-old black and white pug Shih Tzu cross Alfie was with his dog walker on Tuesday between Wheelers Lane at Bearwood and Canford Recycling Centre when he disappeared.

Jan Hoyland, whose 17-year-old son was given Alfie as a puppy in December 2015, said: “Our dog walker had him. She had a couple of other dogs with her and it was around 2pm and the Red Arrows went overhead and one of the dogs got spooked and ran ahead and hurt its paw.

“She had Alfie by her side and she went to help it and by the time she came back he had disappeared.”

Jan’s dogwalker spent around two hours looking for Alfie but there was no sign of him.

Jan and her husband searched for Alfie until around 1am on Wednesday morning and returned to the scene at 5am to continue looking for him but he is still missing.

She said: “I don’t know whether it’s an area being targeted for pinching dogs. He gets stopped all the time. He’s not a bog-standard pug.

“We put posters up in the area but they have been ripped down.”

Jan believes Alfie may have been stolen and has reported his disappearance to the police..

She added: “He’s been neutered. He’s just a good family dog. If anyone’s got him, he’s no use to anyone else.

“Pet wise he’s obviously really appealing. I would hope someone would hand him in but if he’s been stolen by a gang he’s no use to anyone.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “Enquiries are ongoing into the incident. No arrests have been made at this stage.”

Anyone who can help should contact Dorset Police quoting crime reference 55180131857.