A DOG snatcher who made off with a valuable puppy found he had bitten off more than he could chew - after the cheeky pup wrecked his house.

Days after taking the Siberian husky, in Darlington, the thief rang police and begged them to take the dog away.

He said he was fed up with the pup because  it wasn't house-trained. It had ruined his house and he couldn't stand the stink any longer.

The puppy, called Max, was snatched on Thursday after slipping his lead during a walk with owner,  Victoria DeCosemo.

Mrs DeCosemo, 30, had been walking along Darlington’s North Road with her three children and four-month-old Max when he escaped.

Before she could catch the errant pup, a man picked him up and ran away with him, leaving the family devastated.

An appeal was launched on Facebook and a reward offered for the safe return of the much-loved pet, who was an early Christmas present from Mrs DeCosemo’s father.

The puppy was a gift to cheer the family up after the economic climate forced Mrs DeCosemo’s husband to work away from his children, Ruby, three, Jack, one and nine-month-old Robert.

Mrs DeCosemo said Ruby had been left heart-broken and tearful following the theft of her new pet.

But on Saturday night the suspected thief knocked on the family’s door, angry at being labelled “scruffy” by the online community and infuriated at the puppy’s behaviour.

Tempers flared after Mrs DeCosemo confronted him over the callous theft and he fled the house, telling the mother-of-three that she had a bad attitude and would never get Max back.

However, hours later, he contacted Darlington Police and asked them to collect the puppy, saying that he was fed up of being called a scruffy thief and sick of the dog.

The family were overjoyed to be reunited with Max following the bizarre string of events which left them fearing they would never see their puppy again.

Mrs DeCosemo said: “I think he probably got fed up because he doesn’t know how much hard work a puppy can be and it really messed up his house.

“I think he also knew that, after it going all over Facebook, he wouldn’t be able to take him for a walk without someone asking him if the dog was his.

“It’s absolutely crazy. He showed up at my door without Max at first. I think he was probably looking for a reward, but lost his temper and got aggressive when I questioned him about why he hadn’t returned him.

“We are just over the moon to get Max back. It was an absolutely dreadful experience not knowing what was happening to him.

“He wasn’t harmed but he was starving hungry so we gave him some bacon last night and let him sleep in our bed.

“I’ve never seen my little girl so happy, it was like all her Christmases came at once.”

A spokesman for Darlington Police laughed: “This is definitely a case of poetic justice.”