MEMBERS of an overjoyed family have been reunited with their missing Jack Russell following media appeals.

Maisie, a miniature terrier, had been taken from outside the Tesco store at the Westwood, Broadstairs.

She had been left tied up by her young owner, seven-year-old Mollie Deadman, and family friend Nikki Turk, 14, as they shopped inside.

But on Thursday afternoon shortly after a radio broadcast appealing for help finding the bitch, Mollie’s mother, Lorraine, 50, received a phone call from Pets at Home, Broadstairs.

An unknown woman had gone into the shop and handed over Maisie, saying she had found a lost dog.

Mrs Deadman, of Nash Court, Margate, went to the door and confirmed the animal was two-year-old Maisie who looks like a puppy because of her unusual diminutive size.

The Deadman family believe widespread media coverage was the reason for Maisie’s swift return.