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Dog stolen from home in South Tampa, returned to owner

missing dog.jpg
Posted at 11:57 AM, Oct 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-23 20:24:18-04

UPDATE: Family reported to ABC Action News that Ollie was returned home safely this evening.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A South Tampa family is asking for help and offering a reward after their family dog was taken.

According to the family, they already turned over security footage to police that shows the missing dog being taken from its Beach Park home Thursday evening. Larry Saylor said his dog Oliver – a black and white Havanese, who goes by Ollie – followed him outside unknowingly on Thursday. When he came home later that day, Ollie was gone.

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Surveillance cameras at the home show a woman in a black Hyundai Elantra pulling into the family’s driveway as Ollie approached from the sidewalk. She opens her car door and lets Oliver into her car. The woman then turned around to knock on a neighbor’s door a few houses down to see if they knew who Ollie belonged to. The neighbor did not recognize Ollie and suggested the woman take him to the Petco on Westshore Boulevard.

The family is asking the local community to help locate Ollie and return him home. Fliers have been posted around the neighborhood and the local police have been notified. They’ve also shared their story on Instagram, Facebook, Nextdoor, and Pawboost.

Ollie is chipped, so if found a local vet can return him to the family.

The family is offering a $500 reward. They are not interested in implicating the woman in the video in any wrongdoing. They are only concerned with bringing Oliver home.

You can reach Ollie’s owner, Larry Saylor, at (813) 909-6819.