Heartless thieves ‘use a drone’ to steal an autistic girl’s therapy dog

An 11-year-old autistic girl’s therapy dog was stolen by thieves who used a drone to stake out the garden, the family say.

Chloe Hopkins’s three-year-old dalmatian Lottie was cruelly snatched from the family’s outhouse in Peatling Parva, south Leicestershire, last Sunday.

Just days before Lottie was taken, Chloe’s mother Gemma Hopkins watched a drone fly over the property.

The three-year-old dalmatian Lottie was cruelly snatched from Peatling Parva, south Leicestershire, last Sunday

As none of her neighbours were using a drone, Mrs Hopkins believes the device could have been used by the thieves.

Since her pet was taken, Chloe has been crying herself to sleep every night. 

Mrs Hopkins told BBC News: ‘[Chloe] doesn’t understand, with her autism; she thinks somebody hates her and that’s why someone’s taken her dog.

‘I watch my daughter crumple and there’s nothing I can do as a parent to stop her being in pain.’

As none of her neighbours were flying a drone, Mrs Hopkins believes the device could have been used by the thieves who took Lottie

Mrs Hopkins last saw the beloved hound early in the morning on December 1.

The family has offered a ‘large reward in cash’ in exchange for Lottie’s safe return and have made a Facebook page in a bid to help in their appeal. 

One of the posts says: ‘All Chloe wants for Christmas is her best friend home’.

Another adds: ‘Lottie has kidney disease and is on medication, she needs to be found urgently.’

Mrs Hopkins told BBC News : ‘[Chloe] doesn’t understand, with her autism; she thinks somebody hates her and that’s why someone’s taken her dog’

Mrs Hopkins last saw the beloved hound early in the morning on December 1, when she went down the stairs to feed her baby. Pictured: The family’s appeal