A twelve-year-old dog has been reunited with his owners after being stolen nearly a decade ago.

Ollie, the black and tan chihuahua, was taken from his owner Tae Bennet in August 2012 while out walking in Kent.

But thanks to a tip off Hounslow Council Animal Warden, Andy Newham, received last Friday informing him of a stray dog near Hounslow Heath, Ollie and Tae have now been reunited.

Andy said: "It's a remarkable case, the longest I've known a dog to be separated from its owners."

Describing her reaction to the news Tae, who was 12 when Ollie was stolen, said she couldn't believe it when the message from her stepfather came through.

Tae said: "I'd just woken up from a nap and burst into tears when I found out.

"It was a horrible thing to happen to me at that age and it was traumatic, but this is a happy ending and we're all spoiling him rotten!"

Karen Harding who works in the police liaison team at the charity DogLost still recalls when Ollie was stolen and said "it's amazing that they've been reunited".

"Since the beginning of 2021, over 11,000 dogs have been listed as stolen or missing on our database - with around half of those having been reunited with their owners.

"However, these are the stories that we want to tell; we also urge owners to chip their dogs and keep their details up to date. In some cases, as with Ollie, a dog's appearance changes so much that they wouldn't be recognised – highlighting the importance of getting a dog microchipped!"

Echoing this message, Mr Newham said: "The incident shows just how important it is to make sure your dog is microchipped with up-to-date details, and that dogs who are found are scanned by a vet or a council Animal Warden."

Hounslow Council will be running pop up surgeries every Wednesday afternoon 1-4pm from April 13 through to the end of June in many of the public parks around the borough where Animal Welfare Officers will be on hand to scan residents' dogs, check details, and advise on making sure they are registered correctly on UK databases.