Felicity Dickinson came out of Molineux Pharmacy in Byker, Newcastle, to find her dog Lizzie was no longer there
Kristy Dawson Multi-Media Journalist
20:00, 22 Dec 2025
Lizzie (left) and James with Lizzie (right) (Image: Chronicle Live )
A man has been charged after a mum’s bulldog went missing while she was picking up medication for her son. Felicity Dickinson’s son James, 15, recently underwent surgery for a rare non cancerous brain tumour.
The 59-year-old, from Heaton, Newcastle, said she left her nine-year-old bulldog Lizzie outside of Molineux Pharmacy in Byker while she picked up some medication for him on Saturday morning. She came back to find that Lizzie had disappeared.
Felicity, who is also mum to Lucy, 17, feared Lizzie had been stolen and reported the incident to police. On Monday, officers found the pet in a property near the pharmacy and arrested a man.
Felicity Dickinson with her bulldog Lizzie (Image: Chronicle Live)
Shaun Flaherty, 38, of Heaton Park Court, Newcastle, has now been charged with theft from the person of another. He will appear before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on January 21 next year.
Felicity, who has been reunited with Lizzie, said: “James and I are absolutely delighted. We’re very, very happy and now we can finally start Christmas. It’s the best Christmas present. She’s very pleased to see me and very clingy.
“Police rang me this morning and said they were looking then I got a phone call about half past 10 saying they had found her. She was found very near by in some of the flats that are next to the pharmacy.
“I feel very relieved, I’m just a bit worried that it’s happened so close to home.”
James with bulldog Lizzie(Image: Chronicle Live)
Felicity said James will be blind in one eye for the rest of his life as the tumour, which was removed in July this year, was pressing on his optic nerve and he has to take the hormones which the pituitary gland provides to keep him alive.
She previously said: “He had medication to take, hence why I was at the pharmacy to pick it up. I went as soon as the pharmacy opened at nine. I waited to get the prescription which I pre-ordered and left the dog outside thinking I would be seconds.
“There was a problem with it, they lost the medication, so I was five minutes longer than I thought I would be. Eventually they found it and when I came out I found that the dog wasn’t there.
Felicity fears Lizzie was stolen from outside of a pharmacy in Byker(Image: Chronicle Live)
“I was absolutely panic stricken. I was extremely anxious. I didn’t know what to do. I was in a complete panic.
“I thought maybe she’d wondered off and went back home. I went home but she wasn’t there.
“I went back in and asked if I could have the CCTV. They said I couldn’t access it, I needed to have police intervention.”
Felicity, who works as a teacher, reported Lizzie’s disappearance to Northumbria Police. She also shared leaflets and stuck posters to lampposts in an attempt to find her.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “On Saturday (December 20), we received a report that a dog had allegedly been stolen from outside a premises on Molineux Close in Byker, Newcastle, shortly before 9.30am.
“Enquiries were carried out and subsequently a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of theft. The dog has been reunited with the owner, and the man has since been charged with the offence.
“He is scheduled to appear before magistrates in Newcastle in January 2026. With charges now live, we would ask people to please refrain from any speculation both online and in the community.”
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