Beloved poodle found 'safe and well' in Northland after being stolen from Auckland home

A family's treasured miniature poodle, that was stolen from the front yard of their Auckland home over 20 days ago, has been found hundreds of kilometres away in Northland.

Twelve-year-old Cookie was taken by a stranger from the front yard of David Xu's grandmother's house in Onehunga on April 7, just before 2pm.

Auckland City District Police confirmed today that Cookie had been found safe and well.

She was located in the Far North by officers yesterday.

"We would like to thank the community for their help," said a police spokesperson.

Police officers in the Far North found Cookie yesterday. Photo / Supplied

Xu's mother adopted Cookie six years ago from a family friend who was moving overseas and could no longer care for her.

"I remember the night my mum brought her home," he said.

They day she was taken, Xu said his grandmother was gardening at the time and saw a person pat Cookie a few times before picking her up.

"My grandma doesn't speak English so she decided to come in and get me," the 19-year-old said.

"I ran outside but when I hit the street I looked both ways and there was no one on the street, and the street is pretty long as well."