A stolen dog was found 100 miles away from his home nearly 100 days after his disappearance thanks to his microchip.

Stanley the Chihuahua, one, handed into Animalism Vets, St Stephen’s Hill, St Albans by a good Samaritan who had seen him walking down the street on Wednesday, July 12.

After discovering he was a stolen dog, the vets contacted his owners in Woodbridge, Surrey to say that he had been found.

Now owner Christie Barr is holding a celebration of Stanley’s safe return on Saturday, August 12.

He originally went missing on Thursday, April 12 when Christie’s mother was looking after him.

He managed to get out of her house and wander down to a nearby park which can be accessed at the end of her garden.

When she realised what happened, she ran out to find him, and was told by the two girls that a boy on a bike claimed the dog was his and took Stanley away.

Christie said: “He was more like a brother than a pet. We trained him as a puppy to be sociable as I have three children, but that may be why he was so trusting of strangers.

“My mum carried around so much guilt but I do not blame her, it’s not her fault. We were all out looking for him every day and my sister did a fantastic job of running the campaign on social media.

“I did not believe it when the phone call came through, we had come to understand that something bad may have happened to him and that we may never see him again.

“He was not himself when we picked him up.We'll never know what he went through, but when we got him home he settled well, but even now he is quite nervy around cars.

"I am so glad he's home, it's amazing."

Owner of Animalism Andre Hess said: "It is now mandatory to have your dog microchipped. If you have not done so yet it is important that you do.

"To those who have their dog chipped it is worth while checking that the chip is still in place and working."

Christie added: "If Stanley had not been chipped he would never have found him.

"It is only £10 and it is a silly thing not to do if you love your pets and is the only way the vets were able to confirm he was ours."