A DOG found wandering around Hartley Wintney has been reunited with its owner – four months after it was stolen.

Dollar, a three-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was handed in to the dog warden at Hart District Council after it was seen near Hazeley Heath on April 5.

The dog had been micro-chipped, but the number connected to it had been disconnected.

However, officers at the district council, who investigated the dog’s history, found a number associated with the mother of the rightful owner, and left a telephone message.

David Chapman, from Reading, was subsequently reunited with Dollar at the council offices, pictured.

He said: “The dog had been stolen before Christmas and we had pretty much given up looking for him. When I responded to the message, I thought I was calling about the dog being in a road traffic accident, and I couldn’t believe it when I was told he was alive.”

It is not known how Dollar came to be in Hartley Wintney or why he had been abandoned by whoever stole him.

Jazmine Green, dog warden assistant at the district council, said: “This story only proves how important it is to microchip your dog.

“The council does this for free, so there is no reason not to. I am so glad this dog has been reunited with his owner.”