Pug puppy snatched in violent raid at terminally ill man's home

A three-week-old pug has been snatched in a violent burglary at a Nottingham home after it was advertised for sale. Alfie's owner Terry Hayes, who is terminally ill with emphysema, was knocked to the ground during the raid in Beechdale. Police believe the raid on Wednesday was a "one off" but urged people selling pedigree dogs to be cautious.



Mr Hayes' wife Gina said the puppy, which was still being weaned, could die soon if it is not found. The family had placed an online advertisement for a litter of puppies and Mrs Hayes received a text from a woman who wanted to view them. She answered her door in Fremount Drive to a woman and a man on Wednesday evening.

The man, wearing a balaclava, then "burst in" and tried to put Alfie's mother Pebbles in a black holdall. Mr Hayes, 57 tried to hit the burglar with his walking stick, Mrs Hayes said, but he was pushed to the floor and was later taken to hospital. While Mrs Hayes tried to help her husband, the burglar put Alfie in the bag and fled.



Son Tony said the family were "absolutely devastated". Mrs Hayes said: "Puppies depend on their mum until they're five or six weeks old. If these people don't know what they are doing, the puppy will die soon." Det Sgt Mike Ebbins, of Nottinghamshire Police, said that pedigree breeds, especially pugs, fetch 'quite a sum'.  "At the moment locally this seems to be a one-off," he said.