Two teenagers had found the dog on the foreshore, and rang Mrs Utting to return him after reading her story.

Mrs Utting had received a phone call from a man saying he found the puppy and his children liked it, so he was going to keep it.

However the call was obviously a hoax - a very cruel one, as Mrs Utting, her husband Darryl and daughter Alexandra were hit especially hard by the loss of the puppy following the recent death of Mrs Utting's father.

"I have no idea why anyone would even think of doing a hoax like that," Mrs Utting said.

"I don't know how it could be even slightly amusing."

The family had a happy reunion with Zero, named after the dog in The Nightmare Before Christmas, who had been a birthday present.

"I'm extremely grateful to the boys who found him," she said.

"I'll be taking him straight out to be microchipped."