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Elderly, Ailing Dog Swiped From Williamsburg Street Corner
By
Claire Lampen
Published Aug 21, 2019
Modified Aug 21, 2019
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Bre Kelly/Facebook
By
Claire Lampen
Published Aug 21, 2019
Modified Aug 21, 2019
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An elderly goodboy named Theo was abducted as he stood on a Brooklyn street corner Monday night, just noodling around and minding his dog business. While he waited for his human to finish up in the grocery store, a stranger hand swooped down and grabbed him by the harness, lifting him into the air and carrying him away. Shortly thereafter, his human came outside to find his abandoned leash on the ground; now, she's offering a "large cash reward" for 10-year-old Theo's safe return.
"All I want is for him to be home. I don't really care why they took him, I just want him back," Bre Kelly, 21, told the Brooklyn Paper. "This is my childhood dog and I've had him forever."
While police investigate, Kelly and her father have reportedly posted around 200 flyers advertising the theft and asking for Theo's return.
Kelly, an NYU student residing in Bed-Stuy, told the paper she typically walks Theo over to the Green Corner Fish & Farmers Market at Humboldt Street and Flushing Avenue and leaves him outside while she shops. People might give him treats, but the possibility of a dognapping wasn't one that occurred to her. When she exited the grocery store around 9 p.m., after about 15 minutes inside, she found Theo gone.
"I couldn't breathe, and I also thought that I was imagining it," she told the NY Post. "I walk around the neighborhood all the time."
Security camera footage from the incident shows a man in a blue shirt and black pants, unhooking Theo's leash as he walks by then dragging him up by his collar and walking away. According to the NYPD, he appears to have had an accomplice.
What the dognappers probably didn't expect is that the 25-pound gremlin, a border collie/terrier mix, has arthritis, pancreatitis, liver issues, gingivitis, hearing problems, and multiple tumors, in addition to separation anxiety that once prompted him to break out in a rash once when she went on vacation for a week. Theo requires a lot of care, plus, Kelly's been his human for over a decade, having adopted him from a Manhattan shelter when she was 11.
Kelly says she won't press charges or ask questions if the thieves return Theo. The NYPD encourages anyone with information to Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @ NYPDTips. All calls are confidential.
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