A missing dog was reunited with its owner after more than 50,000 people joined an online hunt for him.
Ted, a King Charles Spaniel, was snatched by a man from outside a north London Tesco Express.
His owner, Philomena Hynes, left him attached to the railings by his leash for five minutes to buy groceries.
Mrs Hynes, 75, a widow, said: “I was absolutely distraught when he was taken.
“I couldn’t believe in my wildest that anybody could take a little Ted.
“Those days were atrocious - I couldn’t sleep or eat, I was tearful all day.
“I was weeping the street.”
Detectives from Barnet police investigated the disappearance.
The Hynes family pinned posters to lamp posts around North Finchley, but when that failed to turn up any leads they turned to social media.
Mrs Hynes, a retired Islington education worker, said: “My grandchildren put it in (CORR) Twitter - it enabled quite a few people to go out there and look for him.”
The appeal was retweeted more than 50,000 times and then four days after he was snatched, the family received a phone call from a woman saying the dog was ready to be handed over.
She arranged a rendezvous with Mrs Hynes’ son-in-law at a local park to carry out the exchange - close to where he was snatched - and then ran off.
Mrs Hynes said: “I’m absolutely elated that I got my dog back.
“Ted is absolutely fine after his ordeal and he’s been a VIP since coming home - he’s the lord of the manor dining on chicken and turkey.”
Detectives still want to speak to the man and woman involved.
