A YORK rock musician has thanked shop staff who found and looked after his dog following an attack in the city.

Stevie Roberts, also known as UK Subs’ Stevie Ze Suicide, says he was pushed to the ground and kicked by a group of youths while walking Roxy, his two-and-a-half year old rescue dog, along the banks of the River Foss.

He said: “They pushed me over and I landed on my nose. They didn’t break it but it’s really bruised and cut up. They took the lead off Roxy because it was pink, and one of them threw it in the river. Because she was frightened, she bolted and I couldn’t find her.”

It turned out that Roxy had run to a place she knew well from visits with Stevie and his wife – Morrisons in Foss Islands Road. Staff took her in, gave her a biscuit, and called the dog warden.

Roxy had been fitted with an electronic chip, with details of her owners, so the warden managed to reunite Stevie and his pet.

Stevie said: “It’s restored my faith in human nature. The police were trying to get a statement from me, and I was just crying ‘where’s my dog’?”

“She’s so important to us, and Morrisons could have just said ‘get that dog out’, but they took care of her and we had her back within four hours.”