When my friend vanished, I was in despair. Would we ever solve the mystery? By Stacey Gill, 36
I threw the ball and watched as my beloved pet trotted after it.
Despite thinking he was a dog, Mr Sheffield was actually a cute, chestnut-spotted mini pony.
We kept him at a stables near our home and I spent much of my time with him and our other horses.
Now, he snorted appreciatively, as I gave his back a scratch before leading him back into his stable for the night.
Next morning, I was enjoying a lie-in, when my partner Jamie called from the stables.
'Stace, Mr Sheffield's gone' he blurted.
'What do you mean gone?' I asked.
'I went to give him his breakfast, but his stable’s empty,’ he said. ‘Someone's taken him.'
‘I’m on my way,’ I replied.
Arriving soon after and staring into the empty stable, I burst into tears.
After composing myself, I called the police and said, ‘Our horse has been stolen.’
'I'm sorry to hear that madam' the officer replied. 'But there's nothing we can do. Legally speaking, animal theft isn't a crime in its own right.'
I felt so angry. For us, it was losing a member of the family. How could that not be a crime?
We returned home feeling devastated and utterly helpless.
And when my kids asked if we could go and see Mr Sheffield, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth.
But as the days passed with no news of his whereabouts, I had no choice.
Sitting them down, I said, ‘I’m afraid Mr Sheffield has been stolen and we don’t know where he is.’
Then I hugged them as we all cried together.
‘There’s nothing we can do’
Soon after, I was talking to a friend about our loss and she suggested we contact a charity called Beauty’s Legacy, which was set up to reunite owners with lost or stolen pets.
I discovered it had been started by a woman called Lisa Dean after her cat Beauty was stolen, mistreated and sadly died in her arms just two hours after being returned.
It offered help with media campaigns about missing pets and also had volunteers at the ready to follow-up any leads and tip-offs that could lead to them being found.
Desperate, I called them up and was put straight through to Lisa.
'We'll do everything we can,' she assured me, after I told her about Mr Sheffield.
The very next day, we met up and started the campaign.
We posted on Facebook about Mr Sheffield being missing and offered a £20,000 reward for his return.
I also drove around our area, knocking on doors and asking people if they'd seen anything that night.
But despite our efforts, weeks turned into months with no news.
At night, I tossed and turned, wondering if Mr Sheffield was alive or dead.
But whenever I spoke to Lisa, the determination in her voice gave me hope.
'He's not dead' she’d tell me. 'We're going to find him Stacey. We just need to keep posting on social media.'
Then, just over a year after Mr Sheffield’s disappearance, Jamie got an anonymous call from a man, saying he knew where he was.
'I can't believe it' I said.
'I know' Jamie replied. 'He said he'll tell us where he is but that it will cost us.'
I gulped and asked, 'How much?'
'He wants more than the reward' Jamie said.
We weren't going to hand over the cash without proof, so we asked the caller to send a video via WhatsApp.
When we played it, my mouth fell open.
‘We’re going to find him’
The pony on screen looked malnourished, dirty and unkempt, but it was definitely Mr Sheffield. He had the same freckles on his nose and underneath his belly.
Over the next days, we sold everything we could to raise the money to get him back.
Then, while I waited at home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Jamie drove our horse box to the address he’d been given by the mystery caller.
I was a nervous wreck, but then finally, an hour later, he texted saying, I’ve got him. Come to the stables.
Running as fast as I could, I hurried over and stopped right outside.
My heart was pounding. Would he remember me?
Hands shaking, I opened the stable door and there he was – Mr Sheffield.
Tearfully, I threw my arms around him and kissed him on the nose.
'Where have you been, eh?' I wept.
Gently, I scratched his back, just how he likes it, and he lifted his head, giving a shudder of pleasure.
Our boy was home and after a good clean and a brush, he began to look more like himself.
The kids were thrilled when we told them the good news too and they couldn’t wait to see him.
For a while, Mr Sheffield struggled to walk properly, but with time, love and care, he improved and put on weight again too.
Now, a year on, we still don't know who took Mr Sheffield or where they kept him. But he’s finally returning to his old playful self again.
And we’re just relieved to have him back with us.
I was thrilled when last year, police were given more resources to deal with pet abduction as a criminal offence in England and Northern Ireland. I hope this, and the increased penalties, stops animals being stolen so that no other family has to go through what we did.
We’ll be forever grateful to Lisa and the amazing team at Beauty's Legacy, who we're still in regular contact with.
If it wasn't for them, we would never have found Mr Sheffield.
• For more information visit beautyslegacy.co.uk