One woman was targeted as a pitbull dog was stolen from an address off the A832 at Gairloch. Shortly afterwards, another woman was attacked while the other dog, of the same breed, was taken while being walked on a road near the entrance to the village’s harbour.

The two dogs are from the same property and the thefts happened within a short period of time at about 7.10pm yesterday.

Two male suspects left the area in a white Volkswagen Golf GTI, which was later found abandoned on Achany Place, Dingwall, on Monday evening.

One of the dogs was recovered a short distance away, but the other has not yet been found.

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“Our enquiries are ongoing and I would urge anyone who may be able to help to come forward.

“Our investigation is at an early stage but it appears this was targeted attack aimed at stealing these dogs and not a random incident.

“The vehicle is believed to have been driven on the A832 and A835 before it was abandoned in Dingwall, so if you have any dashcam footage from the road on Monday evening then please get in touch.”

Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident 3101 of August 30, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”