LYNCHBURG, Va. – A two-month-old puppy named Jersey is safe and sound.
“There are bad days [at work] and there are really, really good days. And this is one of the really good days,” said Claire LeFew with the Lynchburg Humane Society.
But the previous 48 hours were ruff for the Hill City shelter.
LeFew says the four-and-a-half-pound pooch had just returned from a foster home Tuesday, and he was getting ready to be adopted.
That’s when staff members believe someone stole the canine between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. that afternoon.
LeFew says the camera system malfunctioned, so they did not catch the incident.
The Amherst County Sheriff’s Office received a tip Thursday morning, and Master Deputy Amanda Aguirre with animal control rescued the chihuahua mix from one woman.
“The dog was in a vehicle with the subject that had the dog, and then there was a male subject outside the vehicle. And she said the dog was right there in the car,” said Aguirre.
Aguirre says the woman was arrested for outstanding warrants, then charged with stealing a dog. She says that’s a class 5 felony, which could lead to jail time and a fine.
But now Jersey’s heading on a new journey. A local family planned to pick him up Thursday afternoon to take the little guy to his new forever home.
“Tuesday evening, we had to give that family some really awful news; awful news that we have never had to deliver before because this has never happened before. Then this morning, we were able to call them and tell them the happiest news,” said LeFew.
Even more happy news, a cash reward offered by The Water Dog restaurant in Lynchburg is going to a good cause.
“The Water Dog is going to donate that reward to the Amherst animal shelter because they are the ones that did the legwork in helping us find him,” said LeFew.