A family dog has staggered back to his Melbourne home with horrific injuries after apparently being abducted for a dog-fighting ring.

Alfie, a kelpie-labrador cross, went missing last Thursday afternoon.

About 24 hours later he turned up on the doorstep of his Sunshine home with serious dog bites, a rope around his back leg, chain marks around his neck and a stab wound to his neck.

Police say an unknown woman was seen leaving the home last Thursday and got into a car.

Alfie staggered home with horrific injuries after apparently being abducted for a dog-fighting ring. (3AW)

Alfie's owner, Sheena, says it was a brazen dog snatch.

"Broad daylight, quiet suburban street, there are kids playing in the street (when) someone took him," she told Ross and John on 3AW Melbourne radio today.

"We thought our backyard was secure. We know now that it wasn't.

"Someone simply opened the gate, walked in, took the lead, and that was it."

Alfie, a kelpie-labrador cross went missing last Thursday afternooon. (3AW)

But the beloved family pet has pulled through.

"He's now home and he's starting to eat a little bit and he's looking a little bit perkier, which is fantastic," Sheena said.

She said the vet believed Alfie had been attacked by a much larger dog and police were investigating a possible link to a dog-fighting ring.

"I didn't even know dog fights existed before this happened," she said.