A Scots owner has described her terror after brazen thieves tried to snatch her one-year-old puppy from her flat in the middle of the day.
Jennifer Faulds had been waiting on her partner to return home to their flat on Oxgang Road in Grangemouth on Saturday when the terrifying incident happened.
The 40-year-old had thought he had arrived when she heard her two miniature schnauzers, Poppy, 6, and Obi, 1, barking at the front door at around 12:20pm.
But Jennifer 'knew something was wrong' when she discovered her front door open and only Poppy still in the hallway.
Speaking to the Daily Record, she said: "My partner is normally home at that time on a Saturday and it's not unusual for the dogs to be hanging about the hallway waiting on him.
"I heard them barking and thought it was him coming to the door. I heard the door open but they continued barking and it wasn't in their normal greeting way.
"The next thing I heard wee Obi in the close and ran to the front door to see what was going on.
"I saw the front door was open and Poppy was still sitting at the door barking and I knew something wasn't right.
"I ran into the close shouting on Obi but I couldn't hear him and I didn't know what was happening. Next thing I looked through the close window and saw a black car speeding off and I was just thinking 'oh no, they've got my dog'."
But little Obi had somehow managed to escape the would-be thieves.
A stunned Jennifer found her beloved pooch cowering at the bottom of the stairs in her close.
The customer service advisor says she was hit with a wave of relief after believing he'd been snatched away.
"It was just a massive relief, I've never been so glad to see his wee face," she said.
"It was total terror and shock when I saw the car and thought he was gone. I couldn't even tell you the make of the car, the number plate, or who was driving it, I was just in so much shock."
Jennifer's partner had also passed the getaway vehicle as he arrived home from work just moments after the terrifying attempted robbery.
She believes the thieves had thought the flat was empty after possibly seeing her daughter leave the property shortly before they tried to steal Obi.
Police have advised Jennifer it was a targeted incident.
Jennifer explains: "Our door is usually always locked but it was just a total opportunist incident that's happened.
"I don't think they knew I was in because my daughter had left around ten minutes before and my partner's car was gone.
She added: "Police think because I've made such a fuss running down the close after Obi that they've just dropped him."
Obi wasn't injured in the incident but was left badly shaken by his ordeal.
Jennifer, who has been left too scared to walk the pups on her own, is now keen to warn other local owners about what happened.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "A report has been received of an attempted theft of a dog from a property on Oxgang Road in Grangemouth.
"It was reported to police on Saturday 6 November. Enquiries are at an early stage.
"Anyone with information can contact 101 quoting incident number 1934 of 6 November."
