THE owners of a whippet believed to have been stolen from a garden on Exmoor have launched a desperate appeal to trace their missing pet.

Daisy, a brindle and white 18-month-old, disappeared from her home at Withiel Florey at about 9am last Sunday.

Owners Sharon and Alec Dalgleish, who run a smallholding and whose home lies just off the B3224 between Wheddon Cross and Raleigh's Cross, believe Daisy was taken by a passing motorist.

"Alec was outside doing the chickens and heard a car slow right down and then very quickly pull away at high speed," said Sharon.

"He immediately had a bad feeling and ran down to the garden but couldn't see Daisy anywhere."

Alec jumped into his car and spent hours driving around the area, searching for Daisy but without success.

He and Sharon have since contacted DogLost.co.uk, a website set up by a couple who lost a dog and realised there was no means of instant communication between owners and the relevant agencies and authorities.

"We've put posters up everywhere - from Exmoor to Ilminster, Bridgwater and even as far as Bristol but, as yet, we've had no response," said Sharon.

"We definitely think Daisy has been taken, rather than just run off somewhere.

"She is a very friendly dog but going off on her own is something she just never did.

"Two of our neighbours also heard a car slowing down and speeding off again at the moment she disappeared, which has made us even more convinced that she has been stolen."

Daisy was a pedigree but Sharon said she was "invaluable" as far as they were concerned.

"We are absolutely distraught and devastated and if anybody has any information at all we are desperate to hear from them."

A reward is being offered for information that leads to the recovery of Daisy.

Sharon and Alec can be contacted on 01398 371378 or alternatively, people can call DogLost in confidence on 0844 800 3220, quoting 19567.