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Donna and children Sian and Marcus are overjoyed to have Ben back.

IT has been a happy ending for one Dudley family who have been reunited with their missing puppy - thanks to an appeal in the Dudley News and a police rescue operation.

Last week, we featured the story of Donna Timmins, whose 12-week-old Staffordshire bull terrier Ben went missing out of her Russells Hall Estate garden, sparking fears he had been taken.

Not only were Donna and her family missing the dog, they had rescued from the RSPCA days earlier, the family's 11-year-old Staffy Taz was also pining for his new best friend.

Following her desperate appeal in the newspaper, Donna received an anonymous phone call from someone saying he knew where Ben was - just a few streets away from their home.

Donna said: "No-one knew the exact address, so we frantically began door knocking trying to track him down.

"When we found him, the man told us he had bought the dog from a guy in Sedgley days earlier.

"But I knew it was Ben straight away. As soon as he saw me he bounced at me and I fussed him and gave him a cuddle.

"I also checked his stomach and there was his scar."

Ben was at the RSPCA rescue centre after swallowing a baby's dummy, which had led to an operation.

The man was reluctant to hand over the puppy so Donna went to the police, who said they would go round the next day to seize the dog.

Donna said: " We all sat on tenterhooks for 24 hours, but then the next morning I had a phone call from the police to ask if I would go and fetch Ben."

After being reunited with their beloved pet, the Timmins family took him straight to the vets' and after a scan, the microchip confirmed it was their dog.

A delighted Donna said: "I'm over the moon and so happy that he's home safe and well. He's settled right back in."

11:12am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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