Therapy dog returned to Melbourne owner after it was allegedly stolen on Christmas Eve

Police have reunited a Melbourne woman with her therapy dog after it was allegedly stolen on Christmas Eve, in what its owner described as the best Christmas present she had ever received.

Kyron the dog was returned to its owner in the early hours of Christmas morning, hours after it went missing from a supermarket in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon.

When the woman finished shopping and exited the supermarket, Kyron was not waiting where she had left her.

Police then received a tip from a member of the public, which led officers to an Essendon home. Kyron was found inside at about 2am on Sunday morning.