Landlord's agony as pub mascow Oscar the cockapoo is dognapped seconds after walking onto street

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This is the “shocking” moment a pub landlord’s beloved cockapoo puppy is bundled into the back of a van by a dognapper.

Asim Erturk’s pet dog Oscar had wandered out of The Widow’s Son in Bromley-by-Bow for 10 seconds when a van driver pulled up and snatched him.

CCTV from the pub in east London shows the suspect calmly walking to the van with the five-month-old under his arm, before carrying it inside the vehicle and driving off.

Mr Erturk, of Stoke Newington, today asked the public for help in finding his “beautiful” companion. He told the Standard: “I’m speechless. I’m a bit broken and still quite emotional.”

Asim Erturk, above, with his pet

The 36-year-old said he and colleagues were busy working at the pub when Oscar slipped out of the front door shortly after 4pm on May 30. By the time they went outside, he had been taken.

Hunt: a Facebook group has created a “find stolen Oscar”  hashtag on Twitter to reunite Asim Erturk, with his pet Cockapoo

“The whole thing happened so quickly and the road was busy with traffic. It happened in 10 seconds,” Mr Erturk said. “Looking at the CCTV video, the whole thing is so shocking. When he threw the dog in the car, there were people just walking around.”

CCTV footage of the moment the dog was snatched 

It is believed he was stolen because of his high value. Pedigree cockapoos, like other poodle-cross breeds such as labradoodles and cavapoos, have soared in popularity recently and can sell for thousands of pounds. Oscar was bought from a breeder for just over £1,000.

The theft comes amid a reported rise in dog thefts in London. Search organisation Dog Lost reported a significant increase in thefts in 2017.

Latest figures recorded by the Metropolitan Police show 173 dogs were stolen within the first nine months of 2017.

Oscar was a popular feature at Mr Erturk’s pub, and east Londoners have rallied around Mr Erturk and staff, launching social media campaigns and sticking up posters

Mr Erturk said: “The community have done a lot. The Facebook group had been set up by 8pm or 9pm on the day Oscar was stolen, and they created the hashtag on Twitter ‘find stolen Oscar’. One Facebook post has been shared over 2,500 times, and everybody is sharing and texting and making pictures and posters. I appreciate that.”

Barman Reimo Helstein, 31, said: “The dog was constantly running around the pub and socialising with everyone. He was probably the friendliest dog they had seen, so everyone had a relationship with Oscar.”

Mr Erturk said witnesses described the suspect as a white, middle-aged male with a bald head. The van was a white Ford transit van with a 2016 number plate, he said.

A Met Police spokesman confirmed the incident is being treated as theft. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information should call 101.

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