I'm living a nightmare after thieves raided our garden... here is the lie I have to tell my young daughter

A young parent has spoken of her 'nightmare' aft her beloved favored was stolen and sold online by thieves.

Ashleigh Greenslade, 33, was shocked erstwhile saw her French Bulldog Beau for merchantability online and was near devastated erstwhile she discovered she had already been sold to a caller owner.

On December 9, 2023, Ms Greenslade returned to her location successful Smallfield, adjacent London Gatwick successful Surrey, from a locomotion with her 2 dogs, Beau and Maximus. She was unaware her backmost gross had been near unfastened pursuing a delivery.

Around 20 minutes later, she noticed Maximus was sat by the backmost doorway and that her different favored Beau had escaped.

She rapidly realised Beau had disappeared without a hint and had not been seen oregon heard by immoderate of her neighbours.

The mother-of-two said this was uncharacteristic of her dog, who she said was 'very friendly' and expected she would person recovered a neighbour.

Fearing Beau whitethorn person been picked up by somebody, she reported the incidental to Surrey Police.

A fewer weeks later, she was shocked to observe that Beau had been spotted connected a Freeads website, listed for merchantability for £250.

‘My bosom dropped erstwhile I saw the ad,’ Asheigh said, ‘everything astir it looked similar Beau.

‘A woman who lives adjacent maine had been searching the net each day. I was laying successful furniture 1 nighttime and she asked maine to instrumentality a look.

‘What is worrying is that it looked similar she had been shaved. Sometimes they bash that to effort and find the dog’s microchip to region it.’

Ashleigh noticed the seller had besides listed kittens and a miniature daschund for sale.

The pets were disposable to bargain from a determination successful Grays, Essex. Ashleigh passed the accusation connected to Surrey Police, who past had to pass with Essex Police.

She said: 'I sent the information, adjacent the code wherever she was.

'Essex Police went circular and fundamentally fto them get distant with it. They searched the spot and did not spot a dog.

'I had to propulsion Surrey Police to archer them that of people they would not admit to having the canine there.

'We past looked astatine the bodycam footage and recovered the plot was the aforesaid arsenic successful the pictures connected the Freeads site.'

For months afterwards, Ashleigh desperately hoped for constabulary to hunt the location again, but was told that Essex Police needed a definite fig of officers to hunt the property.

By the clip constabulary returned, the occupants had near the address.

Ashleigh and her hubby person 2 children aged 4 and 7 months. As the parent of a young child, she has struggled to explicate Beau’s concern to her daughter.

‘Beau was her dog. I person had to archer helium she is connected an adventure, truthful we talk astir it rather a lot, which is rather difficult.

‘We talk astir the adventures she indispensable beryllium on, similar she is connected a holiday. I don’t privation to archer her she is not present anymore.

‘I don’t adjacent cognize erstwhile to halt looking.

‘It is horrible to accidental but if Beau had been deed by a car oregon had passed away, we could greive. When you greive a pet, you tin enactment them to remainder and yet determination on. You tin archer your children that they person gone to eden with each the different dogs.

‘But erstwhile your canine gets taken it is simply a nightmare that conscionable wont end.’

Ashleigh was contacted by Lisa Loops, an histrion who runs a radical called Muddy Paws Crime successful her spare clip to assistance families find stolen dogs.

She launched a Facebook radical successful bid to effort and find leads connected the whereabouts of Beau.

Lisa said: ‘She said: 'When we get a case, we look astatine each circumstances. They are each different.

'When we deliberation a canine has been stolen, we acceptable up a enactment chat for the proprietor and a Facebook radical successful the country they person been taken from.

'We effort to tally a societal media run locally and stock it connected our nationalist leafage to scope much people.'

Lisa and Muddy Paws Crime besides helped Ashleigh interaction constabulary with accusation astir the online sighting.

However, Ashleigh similar galore owners of mislaid dogs, has been the taxable of online trolls responding to the campaign.

She said: ‘The cruel happening is that radical deliberation it is good to connection you with fake stories. People are horrible. The magnitude of telephone calls and texts I had and societal media bullying saying your a dreadful favored owner, you deserved it.

‘They accidental they person got your dog, but accidental they privation to springiness you money.

‘We person a nary alert zone, we cant person drones. We person scam companies saying they tin get a drone to spell and look for her. It is erstwhile you are astir vulnerable, you volition effort thing to effort and get them back.

‘I person not been the aforesaid since, I cant sleep. You perceive of each these atrocious things. Dog fighting, worldly you person ne'er heard astir until it happens to you.’

Essex Police and Surrey Police person been contacted for comment.