MAN has been reunited with his beloved pet dog after she was stolen during a break in at his home.

George Warner, 57, thought he would never see Lady, a pug, again, after she was snatched during the burglary in Mill Green, Pitsea.

But thanks to an online Facebook campaign the pair have been reunited after a woman got in touch to say she had been offered for sale.

Police were contacted and were able to search the seller’s house to find Lady and bring her back to George.

Pauline Fowles, 48, George’s sister, said: “It’s fantastic we’ve got her back. My brother is over the moon. It really shows the power of Facebook.”

Black pug Lady was taken was taken from George’s home while he was out between 1.30pm and 4pm on Tuesday, June 23.

His desperate family launched a Facebook campaign and the woman got in touch.

Pauline, also from Pitsea and a volunteer with the Dogs Trust, said: “Someone was trying to sell Lady. We managed to get the address from this women and went to straight to the police, who went to the property in Malgraves, Pitsea.

“It was just around the corner from where I live. It’s shocking how brazen they were being.

“We’re so lucky we got to her when we did. It had been so long I really did think she had been taken for bait or already been sold.

“I’ve given the woman a bunch of flowers to show her how grateful we are for her help.”

George, who suffers with mental health problems, took on five year-old Lady from an elderly couple who were no longer able to care for her.

Pauline added: “Lady is doing fine. She isn’t underweight at all, so whoever has had her has feed her and looked after her. We were really worried because she can only eat soft food and she needs to be cared for properly.

“Her health wasn’t very good when George first got her, but he paid for her to have operations and she’s had her teeth sorted out, as they were in a bad way before.”

Police inquiries are continuing.