SAN DIEGO — Our CBS 8 story of Chancho, the stolen Goldendoodle, had a happy ending with the dog back home and the accused thief under arrest. But we quickly found out that it’s a much wider problem.
Since Chancho’s story aired, viewers have reached out to us looking for help finding their stolen dogs.
So, we sent our Brian White back out, this time to Chula Vista, to hear one family’s story and to find out just how many stolen dog cases are out there.
“It’s definitely really disappointing,” said Erika Venegas. “We never thought this would happen to us.”
Three weeks after Canela went missing, the heartbreak is still very real for Erika and her sister, Melissa. They miss their dog dearly.
“She’s a 70 lb., golden fur, golden coat Goldendoodle,” said Erika. “She’s a year-and-a-half old, very hyper and she loves people.”
Canela was spayed and microchipped, and she was well-taken care of by her family. On Saturday, July 23rd, when Erika left the house, Canela seemed to be safe in their fenced-in backyard.
“We came home around 4 p.m., the gate is half-open or not fully closed, the lock is on the ground and she’s nowhere to be found,” said Erika. “At that point, we start panicking.”
They went knocking door-to-door and one neighbor said she saw something suspicious. She didn’t want to be on camera, but our Brian White spoke with her on the phone.
Brian asked, “So what exactly did you see?”
She told him that day, she saw a white SUV parked along the curb next to Erika’s back fence and the gate was open with a man walking in and out, but she didn’t see Canela. She didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now in hindsight, she thinks it may have been the thief.
After searching through neighbors’ surveillance video, they think they may have found a picture of the white SUV.
“These are awful cases, right. To lose a dog, it’s heartbreaking,” said Sgt. Anthony Molina with the Chula Vista Police Department.
The family filed a police report the day it happened, and it’s the only dog theft case reported to Chula Vista Police this year, according to Sgt. Molina.
However, our Brian White checked with the San Diego Police Department and their numbers show a much bigger prevalence with 39 dog theft cases reported so far this year and 59 reported last year.
In 2019, CBS 8 reported the case of a Goldendoodle stolen out of a Pacific Beach home with the whole thing caught on a Ring camera.
In February, a man was caught on camera stealing a pug right out of someone’s front yard.
Both dogs were reunited with their owners and video footage was an important factor in making that happen.
“We would urge people to make sure that they have cameras, any sort of things that might even deter a criminal from coming into the yard, maybe even putting signs up that say there are cameras posted,” said Sgt. Molina. “Basically, make your area less desirable to enter.”
Sgt. Molina also stresses the importance of getting to know your neighbors and communicating with them.
“Sometimes neighbors are the only ones who will notice who’s not supposed to be there, if there’s something different about the house or perhaps the gate was left open or something moved and maybe they can alert you quicker,” said Sgt. Molina.
As for Canela, Erika and her family are just hoping to find answers.
“We just really hope that with information that we’ve gathered, with new information that we receive, that one day we will be reunited with her,” said Erika. “We’re going to hold onto that hope and we’re not going to stop looking for her.”
If anyone has any information about Canela or where she may be, please reach out to CBS 8 and the Chula Vista Police Department.
WATCH RELATED: CBS 8 reunites stolen Goldendoodle puppy Chancho with family from Utah (August 2022)