Animal lovers were outraged after thieves jeopardised the lives of four tiny puppies by snatching them from their mother at an animal sanctuary in Wiltshire. The labrador collie cross pups went missing from the Swindon and District Animal Haven just outside Wootton Bassett, along with an eight-month-old labrador called Sadie on Sunday night. A heartbreaking Points West TV report showed their mother Holly confused and distraught in her pen searching for the pups under her bedding. It was feared the two-and-a-half-week-old puppies would die without Holly's milk, but there has been a happy ending to the story as they have now been reunited with her. The owner of the Swindon and District Animal Haven John Warwick said the puppies were returned in mysterious circumstances. "I got a phone call last night and the lady on the phone said 'we've got your puppies and the labrador and we'll bring them back in 15 minutes' then put the phone down," he said." "I got there and saw the labrador jumping up and down and the puppies in a box a little bit disheveled, a little bit thin. I took them to their mother and she was over the moon cleaning them, licking them, cuddling them. She was just so happy. "It's all thanks to the publicity this received that they were returned." Mr Warwick has found homes for all four pups and they are due to be collected by their new owners after they have been properly weaned at the end of February.
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