DISTRAUGHT Lesley Hook is beside herself after being told that a council warden gave her pet Jack Russell cross dog to complete strangers who claimed ownership.

And she says she cannot help feeling that there might be other sinister explanations because Monmouth County Council and its warden are giving out confused messages about the incident.

She and her two daughters, Claire, five, and Rhiannon, 14, have been driven to tears and are desperate to have Ace back.

"Ace was just coming into season when she got out, and it turns out she had been found in Monmouth near our home but taken to Coleford Police Station because the woman who found the dog lived there.

"The police gave a copy of their desk report to me – they contacted Monmouth County Council and their dog warden called to pick Ace up.

"But when we contacted the warden we were told that she had been flagged down by two people in a black car who claimed our dog was theirs.

"And, unbelievably, she apparently just gave Ace to them – taking no details of names or addresses or even a car number.

"At least that is what we have been told. But when you turn over things in your mind there could be three other possibilities – she could have re-homed without the warden checking if we were looking for her, she could have escaped and run off again, or she might even have been sold."

Mrs Hook said she found attempts to speak directly to the warden were blocked by the council and she felt helpless in her efforts to sort out the situation.

She was worried too that Ace might have mated and she could do without unplanned puppies.

"I found her abandoned as a pup in Newport on the New Year's Eve before last, so she is not very old," said Lesley.

"We are desperate to see her again – it is maladministration on a grand scale for them to lose her like this."

Monmouth environment department head of contracts John Hill, who is responsible for the dog warden service, said: "I have had a letter from Mrs Hill which makes some very serious allegations. We will be looking into the matter. I am not prepared to make any other comments at this stage."