'It was horrifying': Millionaire owner reunited with 'Twiglet' the dog recalls seeing home raided by hammer-wielding thief
29 July 2023, 12:11 | Updated: 29 July 2023, 13:38
The millionaire owner of a stolen dachshund has described the "horrifying" moment a hammer-wielding thief broke into her home and stole her beloved pet.
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Twiglet was snatched from Jo Vindis's £1m home in Essex but soon tracked down after a Good Samaritan saw the footage and came across the dog by chance.
They paid £700 to buy the dog, who cost £2,000, while pretending to be ignorant that the dog was being looked for. Twiglet was then returned to Jo, 43, and her husband Jamie, who runs Vindis Group.
It was thought the dog had become too hot to handle after CCTV footage of the theft - in which a masked raider cornered Twiglet and made off - went viral.
Read more: 'Twiglet' the dachshund stolen by man with hammer reunited with owners after tip-off
Moment 'Twiglet' the dachshund stolen by man with hammer
"It was horrifying," Jo said.
"We sort of realised quite quickly, because the alarm had gone off, that there had been a break in, and my husband was able to watch the video pretty quickly after it happened, so we knew almost immediately that she had been taken."
But grief turned to elation when they were tipped off about the Twiglet's whereabouts on Thursday evening.
She was contacted by someone on Facebook who said they had spotted the dog being sold after seeing the appeal.
Police then went to Bedfordshire to pick Twiglet up, it is understood.
Jo thanked everyone who shared their appeal and said she was supported by DogLost, a group dedicated to reuniting pets with their owners.
She told the BBC: "She was a bit bewildered last night, but I don't think there will be any lasting trauma for her."
There were suspicions over whether Twiglet had been deliberately targeted.
Jo said she doubted that but added: "I don't think it could have been entirely opportunistic. He must have been looking at the properties and saw no-one was in.
"It is a quiet, rural and there is not a lot of through traffic. The idea that it could have been a dognapping did go through my mind, but we didn't get a ransom note or anything like that so I don't think so."
