A 7-month-old Chihuahua stolen from Mission Beach is now safe at home after the pooch's family went through great lengths to find their beloved pet.
The search ended with a bizarre rendezvous and exchange of money for the dog in a North County parking lot.
“The whole thing felt like a ransom,” said dog owner Catharine, a mother of two daughters who doesn’t want to use her last name. “Our dog was held hostage.”
San Diego police confirm an open investigation into the case which started when the Laguna Beach family was vacationing in San Diego and visited Belmont Park two weeks ago.
At the park, Peter, Catharine's husband, said he placed the small pet carrier with the dog, Peanut, inside on the ground while he purchased tickets for an amusement ride.
Within seconds, he said someone swiped the family pet and vanished.
It wasn’t until Peter tracked down surveillance footage from a candy store when he realized it was no accident. The video shows a couple quickly walking away while hiding the carrier with a piece of clothing.
“These people were professionals. They were unbelievably quick. Unbelievably efficient. If you look at the way they covered up the bag (and) walked together -- the way they got through the crowd -- how quickly they got out of the crowd," Peter said.
The family started an exhausting search to find the Chihuahua, which included hiring marketing specialists to get spread the word of the dog's disappearance.
They put together social media pages and advertised a $5,000 reward for the return of the lost dog. Roughly a week passed with a number of leads, but none of the dogs matched Peanut’s unique description -- until a bizarre call from a stranger gave them hope.
“They didn't steal her was the first thing out of their mouth. They wouldn't tell me an address to come pick her up and wouldn't arrange a time," Catharine said. "They wouldn’t tell us where to go until literally 10 minutes before we went."
Catharine said she asked the detective assigned to her case if officers could accompany her to the exchange. After they declined, she still went with friends to the arranged location, an Escondido Walmart parking lot.
“When the girl pulled up to return the dog, she pulled up with several other cars watching us at the same time and videotaping us. I don't know why," said Catherine. “I felt like a business enterprise to me, like this is what these people do is take people's dogs and try to get money from them."
The family only gave the thieves a portion of the $5,000 reward.
Catharine says they would’ve gladly paid the entire reward to a good Samaritan, but offered less to the shady strangers and the strangers gladly accepted.
A San Diego Police spokesperson said it’s unclear how these recent developments will impact the investigation, which is still active.
But even if the suspects were caught and convicted, the offense wouldn’t carry a large punishment. Police say the suspects would most likely face misdemeanor petty theft charges.
Peter and Catharine said their original goal was always just to get their dog back, but they also fear this could happen to someone else.
Peter said: “From the criminal standpoint, what can you take from somebody that is incredibly emotional where the police are going to be completely disinterested in helping whatsoever and you'll really be able to own somebody emotionally and be able to extract the most amount of money from them with no consequences?"
Photo Credit: Catharine Fullerton