Murray the Jack Russell was today recovering from a harrowing ordeal at the hands of probable badger-baiters.

Rory Piper, 15, from York, who helped to save a woman who had collapsed in the street

Murray's owner Gillian Taylor, 29, of Water Lane, Clifton, spent 24 hours searching for her beloved pet after he was stolen from her blue Ford Escort in Wigginton Road.

The raiders smashed a window, grabbed the terrified terrier - and left the car stereo behind. Five minutes later, a relative of Mrs

Taylor saw Murray being thrown from the window of the thieves' car - but was unable to catch the petrified animal, who ran for his life.

It is thought the dog may have been stolen for badger-baiting, an illegal pursuit in which terriers are often used due to their small size and aggressive temperament. To the family's huge relief a dog warden found the little white terrier the next day cowering in a ditch, battered and exhausted.

"He was a wreck and totally disorientated," Gillian said. "He was cut by glass, looked as if he had been punched in the nose and had no skin left on his paws. He wouldn't have lasted another night".

Vet Keith Warner today described the dog as being "extra-nervous with inflamed paws and mild frostbite" and suffering with colitis, a condition brought about by stress.

Gillian strongly advised other people not to leave their dogs in the car; especially as the RSPCA advises owners to keep a window open.

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