There was a happy ending at the weekend to the saga of the stolen puppies, as all were found alive and well.

The nine-week-old pitbull-terrier puppies were stolen from the Government Kennels in Somerset last Tuesday, a day before they were due to be put up for adoption.

On Saturday afternoon dog warden Mr. Leonard (Shinah) Simons received a telephone call from Police asking him to accompany them to a house in Southampton.

"Assistant dog warden Mr. Jeffrey Benevides and I went to the house and found the five puppies in a little enclosure on the side of the house,'' Mr. Simons said.

He added: "We also found some of the dog food and food dishes, which we had not noticed were taken from the Government kennel.'' Mr. Simons said he thought Police had also been tipped off as to where the dogs were.

"The man who lived in the house told Police that someone else had stolen the puppies and had dropped them off at his house,'' Mr. Simmons said.

He added: "It was such a relief to know that we got them back.'' Equally excited was volunteer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks and caretaker of the puppies since their birth, 19-year-old Miss Theresa Moore.

"I was really happy when Shinah called me to say he had found the puppies,'' Miss Moore said.

She added: "I was home and I rushed to the kennel to see them. They didn't move much because I think they were stressed out and they were not feeling well.

"I was really angry at the person who stole them because I couldn't believe he would do such a thing.'' Miss Moore also said that before the dogs were stolen she was sad that they were going to be put up for adoption, but now that they have been found "I want all of them to go to a loving home.'' One of the puppies has already been adopted.