A HEARTBROKEN Salvation Army commander has launched a petition demanding the return of her pet dog which was controversially reclaimed by a dog rehoming charity.

The Labrador Lifeline Trust repossessed the dog without warning or chance of appeal amid fears that it would be taken abroad and claims that it was not properly cared for.

However, Major Alexandra Hughes, of Eastleigh, denies the allegations and has now started civil proceedings to settle ownership of her beloved Lunar after the trust refused to return her.

After receiving the backing of Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne and an outpouring of public support - highlighted in the letters pages of the Daily Echo - Miss Hughes has also decided to launch a petition in the hope that trust bosses will "take seriously the fact that so many people can't be wrong."

Total injustice' One of Eastleigh's oldest residents, 101-year-old Jack Collingwood, who has benefited from Miss Hughes' regular community visits with Lunar, was the first to put pen to paper.

He said: "I cannot understand why she's been taken. She is a lovely dog and well cared for."

Miss Hughes added: "It's a total injustice. I've properly cared for and loved the dog. She's my companion and an asset for the community. They've now stopped all those activities."

In a defiant statement, the trust said that it has reviewed its actions and regarded the matter as closed.

It insisted: "The trust is satisfied that the dog has been properly repossessed under its adoption agreement and on welfare grounds."

Trustees had authorised their Eastleigh area co-ordinator to remove Lunar based on a report by a volunteer.

The trust said that its vet later found Lunar to be almost seven kilos (about one stone) overweight, without proper muscle definition, and with long claws and soft pads, suggesting a lack of exercise.

Miss Hughes said that Lunar was only two kilos overweight and on a vet-recommended diet, and that Lunar was due to have her claws clipped and was exercised for more than two hours each day.

The Labrador Lifeline Trust, formerly Home Counties Labrador Rescue, was founded in 1999.

It operates across Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex and Lincolnshire and has rehomed 1,270 dogs.

It says that only four have had to be reclaimed.

To sign the petition, visit the Daily Echo offices in High Street, Eastleigh.