Rambo the dog stolen from Redbridge off-licence by women who offered £500 for pet

Rambo the nine-year old German sheperd

Rambo, the German shepherd, is usually found keeping the Shritharan family company at their off-licence, Sai Superstore, Redbridge Lane East, Redbridge.

He went missing at about 2pm on Sunday.

The dog, who had his ninth birthday that day, was thought to have run off before the family checked store CCTV footage and saw three intruders leading Rambo out of the shop’s back entrance.

Owner Kayanan said: “About two weeks ago we had two ladies come into the shop. The dog is my dad’s companion during the day and they called the RSPCA because they thought we were mistreating him.

“I have no idea why they thought that – Rambo always has a grumpy look on his face but that’s just him. The RSPCA said he was fine.”

The two women later returned offering to buy Rambo, starting at £100 and escalating quickly to £500.

The proposal was rejected by the family, who rescued their dog from another family when he was 13 months old.

Kayanan, 26, added: “He’s part of the family and we have had him for eight years.

“We left the situation at that and then on Sunday he went missing. When we looked at the CCTV we saw the two women with a man leading him out of the back gate.

“He’s quite a big dog, but he’s got such a lovely temperament. All the customers stroke him when they come in.”

The family are now distributing posters around the area and are offering a £250 reward for the safe return of Rambo.

The police are liasing with the RSPCA.