HE'S a tiny dog with a big price tag. But this £600 pedigree terrier may have fallen into the hands of a growing band of canine criminals who cruise city parks hunting for expensive dogs, say organisers behind a national database for missing pooches, Doglost.

Now owners of the family pet are appealing for the safe return of three-year-old Thumper.

The little Maltese terrier went missing three weeks ago from outside his home in Wellington Road, Bitterne Park.

Owner Kerry Walker is convinced that the rare breed was dognapped - and could be sold on for hundreds of pounds.

She and ten-year-old daughter Porsch Simms are now urging anyone who's spotted Thumper to hand him back.

"I've got four children and they're all devastated by this," said mum of four Kerry.

"I know someone's taken him. They are very rare dogs and there aren't many in Southampton at all.

"If I saw Thumper I would know him straight away, he has a real distinctive yap," she added.

"You could earn lots of money by trying to sell him."

She bought the pup from a friend who breeds pedigree Maltese terriers - but says there are few other breeders in the area.

"Anyone with a heart must realise that this is a ten-year-old girl's pet. They would be heartless not to get in touch and hand back that dog," added Kerry.

Jane Hayes, behind the Doglost database, says dognapping has "escalated out of control" in the last year - and says she has seven Southampton and Winchester dogs currently registered missing.

"We just can't believe the amount of people it's happening to," she said.

"These dogs are being sold in pubs or being taken for breeding - and if they can't breed from them, they're ransomed back to the family."

A spokesman for the RSPCA urged people to ensure that their pets are microchipped to help enable dog wardens and police officers to trace owners.