A GERMAN Shepherd dog dramatically stolen from the back garden in Southampton has been reunited with its owner.

Suki Singh and his 11-year-old daughter Corrina are delighted today to have family pet Sam back home after friends turned detective to track him down.

It comes after the the Daily Echo revealed on Saturday how the theft had been caught on CCTV cameras overlooking the back garden of the family's home in Polygon Road, Southampton.

Suki issued a desperate plea to anyone who may have seen the dog to get in touch and offered a £500 reward for his safe return.

Just days later Sam is back in the hands of his owners after Suki's friend Tina Jones spotted a man at the bus stop outside her home in Northam Road with a dog that looked identical to Sam.

To ensure it was the right dog, Tina and some friends took pictures of the dog, sent them to Suki who confirmed that it was Sam.

That sparked a police hunt around Northam to find the man who was later arrested.

Sam was checked over by vets at Pet Doctors in Shirley, who said although he was traumatised by the incident, he is in good health.

Mr Singh, said: “I am just over the moon to have Sam back. I was devastated without him. I brought him up since he was little, he doesn’t know anyone else.

Daily Echo:

“I never gave up.It was like losing a child. I couldn’t think of anything else apart from finding Sam. He was on my mind when I went to bed at night and he was on my mind when I woke up.

“He was shaking since the time I got him back. He was not really himself, he kept shaking and drinking lots of water. It has taken him some time to get back to his old self.”

A spokesman for Hampshire police, said: “We followed up a number of inquiries that were the result of calls from several members of the public. These proved very useful and contributed to the recovery of Mr Singh’s dog.

“A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of theft. He has been release on bail pending further inquiries until September.”