This is the heartwarming moment dog owners rescued their beloved pets that were kidnapped off the street to be butchered.

The couple had gone to the home of the dog dealer after learning that the pet might have ended up there following a spate of disappearances in the area and was delighted and also shocked to find it caged and ready to be killed for food.

The incident happened at the dealer's home in Suzhou, which is a major prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, China.

It is not revealed police are looking into the incident and whether they accompanied the couple, who have not been named, on their search of the property on May 29.

The footage shows the man looking through the pitiful sight of caged dogs before suddenly coming across his beloved pet in a packed cage with his pet apparently recognising him and barking enthusiastically to be rescued.

They can be heard shouting: 'Found it, it's here!' as the footage ends.