WHEN dog breeders Heather Simper and Liz Scoates had five Tibetan spaniels stolen from their kennels, they feared they would never see them again.

But yesterday eight-month-old Alice was returned to the fold, greeting Gus, Harriet, Amy and Gladys.

The dogs were reunited following an Internet appeal for help which reached thousands of people, and a musical appeal on video sharing site Youtube.

Even television presenter Jonathan Ross joined in, publicising the appeal to one-and-a-half million people.

The dogs were stolen from kennels in Reading Road, Upton, near Didcot, just after Christmas. Alice was the last to be traced. She had been sold by the thieves but then escaped.

She was found badly injured in Middlesex and taken to a vet. A scan of her microchip revealed her identity, leading to yesterday’s happy reunion.

Miss Simper, 64, said: “If we had allowed ourselves to cry at every turn we wouldn’t have got through this.

“But because all these people on Facebook were trying to help, we felt we had to pull ourselves together and get on with it.”

Soon after the theft, four of the prize dogs were recovered by police at travellers’ sites in Hampshire, and the campaign to bring Alice back intensified.

Dog fans used social networking site Twitter to spread the word and celebrity Jonathan Ross ‘retweeted’ the appeal to his followers.

Singer Carelle Mowatt also recorded a song urging animal lovers to look out for Alice. The video was viewed online more than 1,200 times.

The story was first picked up by the Oxford Mail but Alice’s plight was later highlighted in the national press.

Miss Simper added: “We had to alert the whole country as she could have been in Scotland.”

Miss Simper has been breeding spaniels with Miss Scoates for about 40 years. They have 17 at the kennels.

Miss Scoates, 63, said: “It is a miracle, but it’s only through thousands of people making a constant effort and keeping it a high profile case.”

The pair have now bought 22 padlocks for the kennels and a guard dog.

They are also leading a campaign for better laws to prevent the easy sale of dogs and to encourage owners to microchip their pets.

Miss Scoates added: “If you love your dog get it microchipped and make sure you have a current photograph.”

As of last night police had made no arrests.

Thames Valley Police spokesman Chris Kearney said: “There has been a lot of work done by ourselves and neighbouring police forces to locate the dogs and we are very pleased for the owners that they have been reunited.”

didcot@oxfordmail.co.uk