A FAMILY are making a desperate plea for the return of their pet - after an administrative error saw the pedigree dog handed to another family.

Lynne Fowler, from Sunnybrow, near Willington, and her 12-year-old daughter Nicola were distraught when their black Labrador, Jack, went missing from their home on May 18.

When there was still no sign of it two days later, Mrs Fowler rang the local police station to see if the dog had been found.

A week later, an officer at Crook police station checked a logbook and found the dog had been handed in on the day it went missing from Mayfield Crescent.

However, by the time the error was uncovered, the kennels, which were looking after the dog, had found it a new home.

Mrs Fowler, who had made sure the dog had microchip identification, said: "I rang the police every day for a week asking if someone had handed in a dog.

"On the seventh day I pleaded with them, saying somebody must have reported something. They then looked in the book and realised he had been handed in days ago."

Kevin Forsyth, from Deerness Kennels, at Langley Moor, near Durham, said the dog was with them for seven days, after which time animals are either destroyed, handed over to the RSPCA, or rehomed.

Mr Forsyth said: "It's just a series of unfortunate events, but luckily for the dog it was re-homed and it's the dog I'm bothered about.

"The law states the dogs are kept for seven clear days."

But now Mrs Fowler, who is training to be a classroom teaching assistant, is trying to console her young daughter.

She said: "I'm 34 years old and crying like a two year old over the dog.

"I was giving a presentation at college yesterday and when I stood up in front of the audience I just started crying. He is ours and we just want him back."

A spokesman for the police said: "Unfortunately, from our point of view a check was not made of the records which would have revealed details of Friday's recovery of the stray.

"We've now spoken to council officers who told us the dog was rehomed with a family in Sunderland. The council is contacting the Wearside family to inform them of the situation and will be bidding to reunite the Labrador with its rightful owner."