Neighbors fear theft ring responsible for missing Yorkies
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Several Indianapolis dog owners say their Yorkies have gone missing and some fear a criminal theft ring could be responsible.
Peggy Allawat, 69, from the Castleton area, has had her 7-year-old Yorkie, named Lil’ Bit, for six years. He was stolen the evening of July 18 in front of her neighbor’s home. He had walked from Allawat’s yard to the neighbor’s yard when a home security camera caught a green SUV driving up to the house and seemingly snatching the dog.
“She came out, the neighbor said, ‘Is that your dog?’ The driver of the vehicle, said ‘Yes,’” Allawat said. “The passenger, which is a teenager, got out and took the dog, and they went right back out of the neighborhood and gone in less than three minutes.”
Allawat believes a woman and teenage girl were inside of the car.
Immediately after, Allawat contacted police and filed a report. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, that investigation was ongoing. Her dog has a chip, leading her to reach out to that company.
The company could not provide a location for the dog, but did notify area veterinarians of the missing Yorkie.
Following filing the report and checking with the chip company, Allawat hung up signs around the city and began going live on Facebook every day demanding answers. As of Friday, she has been doing a daily video for 43 days.
The woman Allawat believes stole her dog contacted her after seeing some of her Facebook posts. She told Allawat she didn’t know that was her dog and that she had simply found Lil’ Bit. She also offered to return the dog, if given time.
That was over a month ago.
Through making live videos on Facebook, Allawat has received major support by hundreds of viewers. She’s also come across several others with stories like hers.
“It’s almost like we’re a network. I don’t know them,” Allawat said. “But, we reach out to each other, to say, ‘Hey, this is my dog,’ or ‘This is the car that took mine, is that the same car that took yours?’”
Several of those families have reached out to News 8 about their missing Yorkies.
One of those families owns a 10-year-old Yorkie named Carter.
He was also taken not too far from his family’s yard and has a collar with an address on it.
Allawat fears their experiences could only be scratching the surface.
“My thought is, whoever has him now, does not know that he’s stolen,” Allawat said.
She is focused solely on getting her dog back.
“Every day, every hour, every minute, she has caused the devastation,” Allawat said about the woman who stole her dog. “Do the right thing and give him back. He is stolen. He’s not yours. He’s our baby.”
