It’s always heartbreaking when a dog is stolen, and one recent case was especially heinous: a dog was stolen right from the arms of a senior man, a shocking theft caught on camera.
But now, the story has a happy ending, as the dog has finally been returned home.
Last month, 75-year-old Carlos Gil was outside his home in Ozone Park, Queens, New York, with his mixed-breed puppy, Off-White.
A man came up to him on a motor scooter, and chatted with Carlos, admiring his dog. But this seemingly-pleasant encounter took a shocking turn when the man drove off with Off-White.
Carlos tried to block the stranger from getting away with his beloved pet, but the man got away. “When he took off on his bike, I tried to push him,” Carlos told ABC 7, in Spanish. “He rushed away, but I thought he was going to hit a pole. Because I wanted to take him out.”
The incident shocked the neighborhood, especially Carlos’ family, who were devastated after losing their dog.
“It’s weird to say because I know people look at it like, ‘Oh, it’s a dog.’ But it’s like a person to us, he’s very much like a baby in the house,” nephew Alonso Gil told NBC New York. “He is very sweet, very friendly, a little shy sometimes too. So he has his own personality and everything.”
“To see that someone would be so brash to take advantage of that in broad daylight and just do something so horrible is honestly very, very concerning,” he told CBS New York.
The theft was caught on camera, and word spread about the incident. The family offered a $2,000 reward and hung signs around the neighborhood.
They also hoped that the dognapper would do the right thing and return Off-White to his family. “I understand at this point you might be afraid of getting in trouble or getting someone in trouble, but the dog can be dropped off at a park where there’s people around. He can be dropped off at a police station, nobody has to see anything,” Alonso told NBC.
But now, weeks after he was taken, Off-White has finally made it home.
According to ABC 7, a woman contacted the family after seeing a flyer. She had bought Off-White from a man, and only then realized he had been stolen.
Off-White is now home. Other than losing some weight, he is otherwise in good health, and will be visiting a vet for a check-up.
No arrests have been made at this time, and an investigation is still reportedly ongoing. But the important thing is that the dog has been found and is home safe.
What a shocking incident — it’s unimaginable that anyone could steal someone’s dog so brazenly. But we’re glad that Off-White has finally made it home safe and sound.
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