AN OVERJOYED family have been reunited with one of their pet dogs after it was cruelly stolen from their home at Christmas - but their other pooch is still missing.

Earlier this week the Guardian reported how Miniature Pinschers Enzo and Minx were snatched from a house in Woodford Green while their owners were out having a festive meal with relatives nearby on Boxing Day.

But now one of the dogs, two-year-old Enzo, has been found in a back garden in Debden, Essex, and succesfully returned to its rightfull owners.

However the heartbreak is not over yet. One-year-old Minx, who needs daily medication to stay healthy, is still missing.

Danielle Ott, who owns the dogs along with her 14-year-old sister Maddison, said: “Everyone is just really happy to have Enzo back, but at the same time we’re all disappointed that Minx wasn’t with him.

“I’m just not going to let him out of my sight now. We’ve really spoiled him and he’s had so many treats - it’s like another Christmas for him.

“But we’re not going to give up looking for Minx. We won’t rest until she’s back where she belongs with us.”

Enzo was discovered by a concerned Debden resident when she found him waiting by her back door one morning.

She took him straight to the vet, where staff identified him as the missing pooch thanks to an identification tattoo on his ear.

But despite being returned, all was not well with little Enzo.

Jennie Ingrey, the girls’ stepmother, said: “It does look as if he has been ill-treated by whoever took him. He has what seems to be a cigarette burn on him, he has a few scratches on him and the vet said it looked as if he hadn’t been fed for several days.

“We just don’t know what happened to them, you wish that they could speak so Enzo could explain what happened.”

Jayne Hayes, founder of missing dog website DogLost.co.uk, said such crimes were becoming increasingly common across the country.

“It seems to get worse and worse each year,” she said.

“We usually have about 40 or 50 people phoning up every week saying their dogs have been stolen.

“People need to be very careful about leaving their dogs alone.”

If you think you can help find Minx call 07970 662213 or call DogLost in confidence on 0844 800 3220, quoting reference number 16380.