A GRATEFUL dog owner has been reunited with his pet dog nearly one week after it was snatched by muggers.

Russell, a six-year-old Jack Russell, was taken from his owner Paul Guest as he walked home from the Churchill pub in the Broadway, Loughton, last Thursday.

He was so desperate to get his beloved pet back, he contacted the Guardian for help and offered a £500 reward for anyone who could guarantee the animal’s safe return.

Describing the moment he was mugged, Mr Guest said: “I was walking home from Ladyfields when it happened and I thought I was being run over.

“They both jumped on me at the same time and dragged me to the ground. I tried to fight them but they pinned me down, then one of them grabbed Russell and they both ran off in different directions."

The police were called and the family spent hours searching the area for the pooch, but to no avail.

And in an impassioned appeal on the Guardian’s website, Mr Guest said: “He's my family, I can't believe someone else has him. I can't eat or sleep worrying about him out there.”

But then on Monday, a friend of Mr Guest overheard a veterinary nurse talking to a worker at a dog rescue centre in Brentwood about a small dog which had been found in Loughton.

Mr Guest said: “They said that two Epping Forest College students heard him crying from a bin on the Broadway early Friday morning. We called to confirm it was him and then we went to get him the next day.

“I'm so relieved he's home, he's had a little holiday- we did try to track down the two young lads that found him to give them some cash as a thank you, but they didn't want it.

“If they see this in the paper, I'd like to say thank you for bringing him back to us. He's part of our family and I can't imagine being without him.”