UPDATE — Zorra was found dead five days after the car was reported stolen.
Police arrested 19-year-old Jephthe Jean Francois on 15 charges including grand theft auto and animal cruelty.
Police say Francois left Zorra in the station wagon to die in the Florida heat.
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ORIGINAL STORY — Florida animal rescue groups are helping a woman find her beloved disabled dog after her car was stolen with the husky mix inside.
WFOR-TV reports Wanda Ferrari had left the car running with the air conditioning on for her dog Zorra while she popped into a Dollar Tree store in Oakland Park, Florida.
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Zorra uses a pink wheelchair to walk because its back legs are paralyzed. But the 13-year-old dog was lying on a pillow in the backseat and not in the wheelchair when the 2005 blue Volvo station wagon was taken.
Ferrari says the dog is her constant companion as she deals with a breast cancer recurrence.
Rescue group 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida hired a pet detective and is now offering a $2,000 reward for returning the dog.
