An overjoyed family has thanked the public for help in reuniting them with their treasured puppy which went missing in Gladstone Park.

Four-month-old Pretzel, a Red Brindle miniature Dachshund puppy, went missing on Tuesday while out with a dog sitter.

Clare Morkane and her three-year-old daughter Bella appealed to the public to keep a look out in “all the nooks and crannies” of their gardens in the hope that the puppy was hiding somewhere.

Clare said: “Pretzel was on a walk with our dog sitter in Gladstone Park on Tuesday. She bolted after being spooked by a big dog and got lost.

“We’re devastated and thinking the worst. We’re worried someone might have taken her.

“She’s a miniature smooth Dachshund, a sausage dog, we’ve only had her a month and she’s been microchipped.”

The family put out posters in and around Gladstone Park offering a reward for the return of the pup.

And within 27 hours a young boy who saw one of the posters contacted the family saying the pup was in his family’s driveway.

Clare said: “We are so happy and thank the public for all their help. She was found by a little boy who saw the poster in the park and went home and saw Pretzel in his driveway.

“She hasn’t stopped whimpering since she got back but we are so happy and grateful that she’s home.”