Police officers received reports on July 29 that two puppies had been sold to someone in Totton, but the payment was believed to have been cancelled by the buyer once they had already been handed over.
A number of conversations are believed to have taken place between the two parties to arrange for payment to be made, but funds were never exchanged.
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This resulted in officers heading to the address in Brookside in Totton yesterday to retrieve the puppies before returning them to their original owner.
The puppies were posted on social media by police, who said they were recovered “as part of an investigation”.
“Willow and Bonnie are being reunited with their owner this evening, and before the officers set off to drop them off, they stopped at Totton station for a drink and some fuss from officers here,” a spokesperson for police said online.
Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and Hampshire police have notified the RSPCA.