TINY TWP. --Raymond Marchildon has been reunited with his four boxer puppies that were stolen from the backyard of his Perkinsfield home.

When the 71-year-old man went to feed the dogs the morning of April 4, he quickly noticed that four of them were gone.

"When I opened the door and saw four of them were gone, my heart fell down," Marchildon said.

"Now it's the other way around," he added. "It's quite a high now that I have them back let me tell you."

Provincial police launched an investigation and tips from the public helped Southern Georgian Bay OPP officers bring the puppies home, Thursday afternoon.

After police issued a report urging the public to come forward with information about the canine theft, Marchildon said two men showed up at his home and told him they knew where two of the puppies were.

All four were soon discovered and quickly brought back to Marchildon.

One of the dogs was found on an island near Parry Sound and the others were found in Midland, Marchildon said.

"A couple were kind of abused, but in a couple of weeks I'll have them right back to where they were before they were taken," he said.

The culprits took four of the five fawn-coloured pups and left behind three white-haired pups, which suggests the thief knew white pups are prone to health problems, Marchildon said.

Marchildon believes the pups were stolen for their value as pure-bred dogs are known to fetch a high price.

Boxer puppies can sell for between $800 and $1,000.

"They were stolen and I guess they sold them," Marchildon said.

"You have to get a job and you can't go around stealing stuff. Don't go around grabbing other people's stuff."

Southern Georgian Bay OPP Const. Dave Hobson said the pups were brought home through a joint effort between the public and police.

"It was information from the public and good old police investigation work," he said. "We've got the pups back, which is great news, but on the other side of the equation, we still have police work to do."