 Dog stolen from yard
Mooresville, NC (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 12, 2005
County: Iredell
Local Map: available
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available |
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At first, Doug Trent didn't think much when he heard two of his dogs barking outside on the morning of April 12. But he looked out the window when his two indoor dogs joined in. He saw three men in what appeared to be a town of Mooresville truck. They had opened his gate and were taunting the outdoor dogs.
He asked them to stop, and one of the men told Trent to make him. By the time Trent put on clothes and left his house on West Iredell Avenue, his dogs -- Savanna and Tweeter -- were already in the back of the truck. Trent saw one of the men dragging his neighbor's dog from his kennel by the collar. That dog bit the man, who let go and jumped in the truck. Then they drove away.
Neighbors say they heard the commotion, as several dogs on that block began barking.
Trent described two of the men to the Mooresville police as Hispanic, but town officials say Mooresville has no Hispanic employees. Town Manager Jamie Justice said no town employee matches the description of the other man, a bulky Caucasian with reddish-blond hair and a trim goatee.
None of the town's white Ford F-150 pickup trucks or town decals have been reported missing, Justice said. Trent said he checked trucks at a town garage later and that the decals matched those on the truck driven by the thieves.
"Now that we understand the incident, we're going to keep an eye out for a similar vehicle doing that kind of thing," Justice said. "And we'll work with county Animal Control to see what they find."
Iredell Animal Control Chief Robert Tatham said his department will sweep the area in the next few days looking for violators of the rabies vaccine ordinance and for signs of animal cruelty, in hopes of finding more information. Another Animal Control official said it's possible the dogs were stolen by a dogfighting ring to use as bait, or to be sold somewhere. Dog theft is a felony.
Trent is unnerved. "It just really bothers me you can't even feel safe to leave your pet outside," he said.
Savanna and Tweeter were not visible from the road and stayed inside a wood fence taller than a person. A sign on the fence with a picture of a rat terrier reads: "Warning. I can make it to the fence in 2.8 seconds. Can you?"
From now on, every time Trent sees a town truck with workers near his house, he said he will wonder if they are there on legitimate business.
Justice said residents are welcome to request town workers' photo ID badges. All town workers have those and wear a shirt with the town's insignia, he said.
Trent said he and his wife, Emily, lost more than just dogs. "We don't have kids," he said. "Our dogs are like our kids."
Thankfully, Savanna returned to Trent's home Tuesday night. The couple heard one of their car alarms and looked outside to see the black lab/chow mix frantically clawing down their fence. Planks were falling on the car.
Savanna's face was bleeding. Their vet said someone had smacked her but that she will be OK.
Tweeter, the rat terrier, remains missing. He is the muse for children's stories Trent writes about a dog superhero named Tweeter who fights for animal justice. Disney is considering his stories for production, he said.
"I lost my hero," he said. Case UpdatesTweeter, the rat terrier whose owners said was stolen from their yard Tuesday by men posing as town employees, was reunited with the couple after a Good Samaritan caught him running down a street.
Mooresville police said Allison Penegar called them with news of Tweeter after she saw a story about him and his picture in Thursday's Observer.
"I cannot pass a dog that's loose and not pick it up," Penegar said. "Everybody that knows me knows that's what I do."
She kept Tweeter with her Tuesday night, took him to her veterinarian and went through her neighborhood trying to find his owners. On Wednesday, she turned Tweeter over to the North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue in Harrisburg.
Owner Emily Trent said Tweeter ran up to her and started jumping when she and her husband, Doug, picked him up.
"It was awesome to get the one back, but it was a miracle to get both back," she said.
Savanna, another of their dogs taken with Tweeter, appeared outside the Trents' fence Tuesday night with a bloody face, the couple said.
Penegar said she saw Tweeter and Savanna running down West Center Avenue, several blocks from the Trents' home, when she was on her way to pick up her daughter at a Girl Scouts meeting. She chased Savanna for blocks, but could not capture her.
Mooresville police are continuing to investigate the theft, Capt. P.K. Hillard said. Doug Trent's police report said three men in a white Ford F-150 pickup with what appeared to be a Town of Mooresville decal took the dogs from his yard on West Iredell Avenue. Then they attempted to steal a neighbor's dog, but gave up when the dog started biting, the report said.
Town officials say no town trucks or decals are missing and that no town employee matches the description of the three men Trent gave police. But the town is "very serious" about solving the case, Town Manager Jamie Justice said.
Town Public Works Director Frankie White said employees are never given Mooresville's decals. The only way town vehicles get decals is when his department affixes them, but "anybody can make a picture of it and cut it on a sign-making machine that wanted to," he said.
"It's not hard to duplicate," White said. "You can duplicate any kind of seal you've got a picture of."
His staff will search for trucks that don't match the town's yet have a town decal. He said the town has ways to recognize its vehicles beyond the decals, but declined further explanation.
Hillard said police will work with Iredell County Animal Control to investigate the Trents' neighborhood for signs of animal cruelty or dog fighting. Often when dogs are stolen, it's by dog-fighting rings looking for bait, an Animal Control official said.
The Trents said they were blessed to get both dogs back, especially since they don't have children. "These are our kids," Emily Trent said.
Penegar said she understands. "I've got four dogs of my own," she said. "I know how miserable I'd be if anything happened to them." | Source: Charlotte Observer - April 15, 2005
Update posted on Apr 15, 2005 - 8:07AM |
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