A HEARTBROKEN man is offering a £500 reward for the safe return of his stolen dog.

George Wolwowicz’s dog Missy, a grey and white, part-hairless Chinese crested, has been missing since Monday.

Mr Wolwowicz, of Bolney Road, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, said: “I miss her so much. She is such a friendly dog and I just want her back.

“I was taking the rubbish out at around 4.30pm and Missy just sneaked out. Annoyingly I didn’t see her leave the house.”

Mr Wolwowicz, 70, has had Missy for three years. She was a rescue dog before he took her in. He also has another dog of the same breed.

“Rocky, my other dog, misses her too. Every time I open the door he comes looking for her. He misses her as much as I do,” he said.

Missy requires medication, and without it she could become ill.

The £500 reward will be paid by Mr Wolwowicz’s insurers, Pet Plan.

He says that he is unsure who would take Missy, as he knows everyone in his neighbourhood.

Mr Wolwowicz said: “I have lived here for years, and I know everyone around. They know me because of my dogs, and I am a very outgoing person.

“I have not made any enemies, so it is a mystery who would want to steal Missy.”

Shania Waring said she saw Missy being taken by a man at the end of Stonecross Road in Moulsecoomb at around 6pm. She said the man claimed he was going to take her to the RSPCA.

Ms Waring commented on a Facebook post about Missy saying: “I saw her on Monday. A man picked her up and was going to call the RSPCA to come and get her but I don’t know if he did.”

Missy is micro-chipped, which means that if she is handed into any vet or animal welfare association, Mr Wolwowicz can be contacted immediately.

The man said to have taken Missy is described as being in his forties and was said to be wearing a beige baseball cap and a navy puffer jacket.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “On May 31 we received a report that a man had lost his dog. It was reported to the council dog warden but not to police. There are no current lines of enquiry.”

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting serial 510 of 31/05.