We've found your missing dog - but data protection rules mean we can't tell you where

Dave Moorhouse said he has taken the battle to find out the location of Jack Russell Rocky to a county court but, last week, a judge ruled he did not have the power to disclose the information.

Mr Moorhouse, 56, from Huddersfield, said Rocky went missing in 2007 when he was little more than a puppy and he spent a week looking for him before resigning himself to the fact he had been stolen.

The bricklayer told a newspaper how he had given up hope when he was contacted in April this year by Anibase - a company which microchips pets - asking for more details of Rocky's new owners.

He said he thinks whoever has his dog must have taken him to a vet who scanned the chip and this provoked the correspondence from Anibase.

But Mr Moorhouse said Anibase would not tell him the address due to data protection rules. He said the police would also not help because he had not reported it as a theft. Finally, he went to the county court but he said he was told by a judge last week that it was out of the court's jurisdiction.

Mr Moorhouse said: "I would love to get my dog back but Anibase and the police won't tell me where he is." He added: "He was a gorgeous, lovely dog who would lick you to death. Rocky was great with kids, he was great with everyone."

A spokesman for Anibase said the company was legally restricted over what information it could give to members of the public and suggested Mr Moorhouse may have to try a higher court.

He said: "We have to follow the requirements of the Data Protection Act. We can't just release details to members of the public."

The spokesman added that Anibase could only release the details of the dog's location if ordered to by certain courts or if the police request it. West Yorkshire Police said they have no record of Mr Moorhouse reporting a dog stolen.