IT’S every pet-owner’s nightmare.

Dave Moorhouse returned to his Huddersfield home one day to find his beloved Jack Russell puppy was missing, presumed stolen.

Three years later the Blackmoorfoot man has now discovered that Rocky is alive and well – but the authorities refuse to reveal where the dog is.

Last week he failed in a court bid to discover the location of his pet.

Mr Moorhouse, 56, said yesterday: “What’s the point of having your pet micro-chipped if you can’t get him back?”

Mr Moorhouse got Rocky as a six-week old puppy in August 2006.

“He was a gorgeous, lovely dog who would lick you to death. Rocky was great with kids, he was great with everyone,” he said.

But the dog went missing one Sunday afternoon in January 2007.

Mr Moorhouse said: “I secured him on his lead in the backyard and went to Leeds. When I came back Rocky was missing and I presume he was stolen because someone would have had to have let him off his lead.”

Mr Moorhouse tried to find his much-loved pet.

He said: “All that next week I was in the woods in Blackmoorfoot looking for him.

“ I put an ad in the Examiner and I reported his theft to the vets at Paddock where Rocky had been micro-chipped.”

The self-employed bricklayer gave up hope of ever seeing Rocky again.

But this April Mr Moorhouse received a letter from pet micro-chipping company Anibase asking if he wanted them to update their database with the name and address of the dog’s new owners.

It is believed Anibase became aware of Rocky’s new address when he was taken for a health check at a vets earlier that month.

Mr Moorhouse said: “I told Anibase that I didn’t want to transfer ownership because my dog had been stolen.

“I asked them for the name and address of the people who had my dog but they wouldn’t give me the details.”

Mr Moorhouse contacted the police, who also refused to reveal the details.

Last week Mr Moorhouse took his case to Huddersfield County Court, asking for a court order forcing Anibase to release the name and address of the people who have Rocky.

But the judge ruled that the matter was outside his jurisdiction and that Mr Moorhouse should pursue the matter with then police.

Mr Moorhouse did not report the suspected theft when Rocky went missing because he didn’t want to take up police time. However, he did contact officers after he received the letter from Anibase in April.

Mr Moorhouse has spent nearly £400 on legal fees and phone calls trying to find out where Rocky is.

He said: “I would love to get my dog back, but Anibase and the police won’t tell me where he is.”

Yesterday an Anibase spokesman explained why the company had refused to release the details.

He said: “When there’s a dispute about ownership, we are in no position to judge. However, we can inform people what they need to do to establish ownership.”

The spokesman added that Anibase could only release the details of the dog’s location if the courts or police ordered them to do so.

He said: “This is not a choice, it’s an obligation under the Data Protection Act.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman added yesterday: “If this gentleman wishes to report a theft to us, we will look into the matter.

“However, we are obviously unable to give members of the public people’s address details.”