A loved family dog that a group of teenagers stole from the hands of a 72-year-old man on Saturday morning has been returned to her owners.
Five-year-old white Staffordshire Bull terrier cross Morticia, was stolen from the elderly man while on a walk in Mount Waverley, 20km east of Melbourne, at 2.30am on Saturday.
Police said the pup was being walked along Huntingdale Road by her owner when a group in a black Holden Commodore pulled over.
The teenagers, believed to be young men and women, made demands for his dog.
Ewa Gawrysiak, daughter of the owner Boguslaw, told news.com.au the teenagers in the car yelled ‘we want the dog’ and ‘give us the dog’.
‘[Dad] blew it off as drunks coming home after a night out,’ she said, saying her family were shift workers so it wasn’t unusual for her father to walk the dog at night.
The man fled, but was chased by one youth to a nearby convenience store on Waverley Road in Chadstone before Morticia was stolen.
Police said the offenders fled the scene in the Commodore, which didn’t have any numberplates, and they were last seen driving south on Huntingdale Road.
Police found Morticia, a five-year-old white English Staffordshire terrier cross (pictured), after she was reportedly stolen by a group of youths late at night in Melbourne
Investigators released images of Morticia in the hope someone could find her
But on Saturday evening, police said Morticia had been found and was reunited with her owners.
‘It’s understood the dog was located on Huntingdale Road and taken to the RSPCA before going home,’ a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
‘Police continue to investigate the theft.
‘Any witnesses or anyone with CCTV/dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers’.
