'He's part of our family, he's got to come back': West Lothian family distraught after cocker spaniel snatched from their home

A family is desperately searching for their much-loved dog after he was stolen from his kennel outside their home.
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Davie Whigham, a retired policeman, came home to find his chocolate-coloured cocker spaniel Obie was missing from his house in Harburn, West Lothian, on Wednesday afternoon.

After searching the area with his other two dogs and finding no luck, the concerned pet-owner investigated his CCTV footage.

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To his horror he found evidence of a group of thieves breaking into his dog kennel and snatching the poor three-year-old pup before driving off in a silver car at speed where he “nearly crashed into the postie”.

The suspected thieves caught on CCTV outside Mr Whigham's house in West Lothian and a picture of Obie, who has been reported stolen picture: suppliedThe suspected thieves caught on CCTV outside Mr Whigham's house in West Lothian and a picture of Obie, who has been reported stolen picture: supplied
The suspected thieves caught on CCTV outside Mr Whigham's house in West Lothian and a picture of Obie, who has been reported stolen picture: supplied

In a desperate bid to find Obie, Mr Whigham has posted pictures of the culprits caught on camera on social media and shared images of his beloved dog in the hope that someone will recognise the pet.

Mr Whigham said: "Obviously it's devastating.

"I came home at about 4pm to find Obie was missing from the kennel.

"The other two dogs were in there, but the door was open and I thought maybe he had escaped.

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"But after looking around, and then playing the CCTV, it turned out a group of guys had come to the house while I was out and took him.

"One guy came right up and knocked on the door, obviously to check if we were in, while it looks like three other guys headed over to the kennels and grabbed poor Obie.

"The video shows them driving off in such a rush they nearly crashed into the postie who was just turning into the drive.”

Mr Whigham said he was surprised his other two dogs were left behind, but that he thought the suspected thieves stole Obie given his calm nature.

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“The other two are quite energetic and hyper, so maybe they chose Obie because he’s quite gentle and was an easy one to pick up,” he said.

"They are wonderful dogs, incredibly loyal and well-behaved.

"There’s just no need for this kind of thing whatsoever.

"He’s part of our family, that’s why he’s got to come back.

"He’s a fit little thing and loves his life in the countryside. He’s a working dog and we’ve done so many Munros together.”

The concerned dog owner said he had received a few messages from people who had potentially spotted Obie and recognised one of the men in the CCTV footage, but nothing has been confirmed so far.

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"Some people said they’ve spotted the guy in the area this week getting into trouble and some said they recognise the silver car that you can see on the CCTV,” Mr Whigham added.

"I just hope they’ve not gone far.”

Mr Wingham’s post on social media about missing Obie has caused an outcry and been shared almost 7,000 times.

Officers said they were investigating the theft.

A police spokeswoman said: “At about 5:10pm on Wednesday, November 11, officers were called to a report of a dog stolen from outside a house in West Calder. Police enquiries are ongoing."

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