THE MISSING dachshund, stolen when its owner's car was taken over the weekend from Mermaid Waters, has been found.

The pooch called Tau was found lying on the dashboard of the stolen car in a Tweed Heads car park about 9.30 last night.

The dog has now been reunited with its owners Des and Deidre Payne.

They had pulled over to help two women hurt in the smash, only to have their car - with their beloved pet inside - stolen on Saturday morning.

Mrs Payne told ABC radio she received an anonymous phone call around 8pm last night from a woman telling her the location of the car.

"I asked her if the dog was in it and she said 'I don't know, I don't know'," Mrs Payne said.

Mrs Payne said she and her husband expected to find Tau "dead, if not half dead" but were delighted to find him wagging his tail with the window wound down and a bucket of water in the car for him.

"Someone had really looked after him," Mrs Payne said.

additional reporting Gold Coast Bulletin

Originally published as Stolen pooch found safe and sound