Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Have You Seen This Dog?

A reader tipped us off to this this post on www.puptown.org:

Pug Sharpei Mix Stolen at Montrose Dog Beach

This past Friday afternoon, my roommate had her puppy stolen from her at the Montrose dog beach. She is understandably crushed, and is scouring the city to try to find him. He is a 6-month-old Pug Sharpei mix, white with brown spots, with a surgical scar on his belly from a recent surgery. A photo is attached. There is a $2,500 reward for the safe return of Che. He weighs about 30 pounds.

If you have any information, please call 773-xxx-xxxx. Thanks in advance for sharing the news!

Update: Read more about Che in the Tribune story here.

Update #2: Che was found last night!

25 comments:

  1. I would like to hear more about the circumstances.

    Is there a description of the perp? If not, how does one steal a dog in public without being seen? Is the owner sure the puppy didn't run away? Details please...

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  2. Vicious circle, this sort of thing. Offering a reward for a stolen per might get him back to you, but it also encourages more people to consider a new source of income... And then again, if you don't offer a reward, someone else will almost certainly be willing to pay. Keep an eye on your pets, people!

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  3. Love dogs I do but 2,500.00? Talk about encouragement,Candice you could start an entire cottage industry for dognappers.Couldn't say 250.00 beeen sufficient we don't want bounties on our dogs do we?

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  4. I too would like to know more about the circumstances. When I visit the dog beach I think it would be pretty hard for someone to take my dog without me seeing it. I think theres more to this story not told but it is still a shame that people will stoop so low to steal a dog from its owner........

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  5. I would like the owner to post her / his story. Check the pound! I hope it is found.

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  6. A couple of years ago, a female police office in Uptown warned me not to leave my dog unattended because people were stealing dogs for dogfighting practice "opponents". Therefore, I definitely think it is valid that her dog might have been stolen. I'll keep my eye out for that pup! So cute!

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  7. People do "smash and grab" dogs. A few years back some dude in a van was trying to take people's dogs.

    And, unfortunately, it has a lot to do with dog fighting and either finding new dogs to use, or even worse, bait to train other dogs.

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  8. the doggie beach isn't the type of place where people would be on guard hoping their dog doesn't get stolen, so i really empathize with your friend's shocking loss and hope the dog is returned safely.

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  9. FYI:

    http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/a-dognapping-at-montrose-dog-beach.html

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  10. I am so sorry about the owner's dog. She reports in the Tribune today that she is quite devastated about it. I don't know where to look or how to help, but I will take extra special care to check out all the dogs I see.

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  11. Her comments in the Tribune state that she "took her eye off the dog for a few minutes". A "few minutes" is quite a long time. Irresponsibility. I hope she finds her dog but that is irresponsibility and lack of safety for the dog itself as well as others. This is similar to the irresponsibility of the people here that have their dogs on those 20 ft. leads. I've been to that beach many times and have never taken my eyes off of my dogs for 5 seconds. That dog could have drown. Many things could have happened to it other than being "stolen". Hope she is reunited with it and learns a lesson at the same time.

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  12. It's pretty easy to call some irresponsible on a blog when you don't know them personally and only know what you have read in the Tribune.

    Glad it wasn't your dog but I doubt I would still call you irresponsible.

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  13. I would agree that calling this dog owner irresponsible on face value is a pretty ignorant statement. The beach is quite large and when it's crowded, it's quite easy to lose sight of your dog--especially if it's a runner. Or maybe you just keep yours on its leash the whole time, which rather defeats the whole purpose?

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  14. I can easily understand how this can happen. I took my puppy to Montrose Beach once. It is fenced in, so people can take their dogs off leash and let them run around. At the time I took my dog, she was a tiny 16 week-old puppy, and I kept her on a leash because I knew that she was fast,and could be on the other side of the beach, getting mauled by a bigger dog and be dead before I could get to her. I felt bad that I had to keep her on a leash because she wanted to run around, but I was too afraid to take chances. The dog beach or park is where you are supposed to be able to let you dog play, off leash. That is the purpose of them. I feel sorry for the owner, and I truly hope its a matter that the dog just escaped the pen or is lost and not an issue of being snatched by someone for dog fighting purposes.

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  15. **Special Alert*** from the Sassy 24 Hour News Bureau:

    Rebecca was reunited with her dog! A West Roger's Park family found it wandering on Lake Shore Drive and because of the coverage was able to return the dog, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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  16. From the article: "It's likely that Che ran away on his own and wasn't dognapped as Balabolil originally reported."

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  17. Tow things about this story that suck:

    *In the meantime she says she plans to ground Che for a week and not let him out of her sight. But she also said she would buy him a toy and some peanut butter, his favorite treat.*

    I think she should be grounded for not watching her dog and blaming a dog-napper. Blaming someone else for her own negligence.

    Secondly, I can't believe those people took the reward money...but whatever.

    Sorry to sound harsh but WTH....

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  18. The more I read about this the more I steam...good thing she doesn't have kids!

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  19. i think any dog owner knows that they are ultimately to blame for their puppies' indiscretions. as for the reward money, given the fact they had the dog long enough to name him bruno, the money as well as the publicity certainly inspired a return.

    thank goodness for a happy ending!

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  20. Why wasn't the dog wearing a collar with an ID tag? This could have been cleared up the same afternoon.

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  21. This is worthy of multiple Trib articles, yet they won't touch Wilson Yard? What is wrong with this picture?

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  22. Wow, such judgmental people.

    Don't you think the dog could have been dognapped and then thepeople said they found it running loose?

    Who cares, why the bitterness toward the lady that loves her dog.

    Dogs sometimes get lose and run away anyway.

    She gave them the reward money and the people accepted that is the sad part.

    If I found a stray dog and I won't accept reward money even if it was offered.

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  23. $2,500 is a bunch of money and I don't know I would feel comfortable accepting it (even though I could REALLY use it! ;).

    FYI, did you know the owner legally need not pay the reward if the finder(s) did not previously know of the reward?

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