What to Know
- A dog stolen from from outside a Brooklyn grocery store by a man who grabbed him by the neck has been returned to his owner
- Bre Kelly said on Wednesday that Theo, a terrier mix who she's had for more than a decade, was returned "a bit stunned and nervous' but okay
- Kelly received a phone call in the morning by people who wanted to cooperate and bring the dog back
A dog stolen from from outside a Brooklyn grocery store by a man who grabbed him by the neck has been returned to his owner.
Bre Kelly said on Wednesday that little Theo, a terrier mix who has been with her for more than a decade, was returned "a bit stunned and nervous but overall, okay."
Kelly told News 4 she received a phone call in the morning by people who wanted to cooperate and bring the dog back. By the afternoon, Theo was back in her arms after being handed over by a bystander in Bed-Stuy, close to the Green Corner Market on Flushing Avenue and Humboldt Street where the dog was taken.
"We are just so happy that he’s home safe and that was always our only goal," Kelly said in a text. "I feel it was all of the support and awareness people generated over social media, local law enforcement, the community, and online that brought Theo home so quickly so we are thankful to everyone involved for their hard work."
Kelly, 21, and police desperately searched for the 11-year-old dog and the man who was caught on camera taking him. The dog owner said she had tied him under the fruit stand and went inside the store to make a quick purchase.
"I've had him 10 and a half years, through six different houses, through divorce and college," Kelly told News 4.
Local
A surveillance footage released by police shows a man in a blue shirt strolling by the store and stopped to release Theo from his leash. He led the canine away but when it stopped walking, he grabbed the dog by its collar and carried it away in an unknown direction.
Flyers with Theo's photo and information were plastered across the neighborhood in a last-ditch effort to find the missing pooch.