Image: facebook/helpusfindtopsyandturvy/They never gave up hope.
The owner of a pair of dogs stolen early last month has spoken of her relief after they were found.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of dog thefts during the pandemic.
Female dogs Topsy and Turvy were snatched from their home in Dublin in early July.
Following their disappearance, the family mounted a massive campaign to find their two pets with Turvy being found in Mallow in County Cork after he showed up on an ad on DoneDeal.
However, Topsy remained missing...that is until now.
Owner Joan believes there was an attempt to remove the microchip from one of the dogs, but says she never gave up hope.
''I do believe that is how we got Topsy back, through the support of other people and our dedication to her'', she said.
Joan added that she spoke to Aidan, the man who's dad owns Brandy, another dog who was returned earlier this month after being stolen:
''He used this amazing phrase 'don't give up on Tospsy because she won't give up on you'''.
''And that kind of became our family motto''.
In a Facebook post announcing that Topsy was finally home, the family wrote:
‘To the person that had her, thank you for doing the right thing.’
‘The real thank you goes to our relation Anthony O’Driscoll who never gave up on Topsy.
‘To the bottom of our hearts Anthony, thank you for never giving up on Topsy. You had your dog stolen and you knew what we were going through. Families stick together.
‘We all supported each other through this nightmare.’
