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Schnauzer Flies Home To Oklahoma City After Stint In Moreno Valley

MORENO VALLEY (CBS) — A miniature schnauzer who found himself thousands of miles away in Moreno Valley is back home in Oklahoma City.

Five-year-old Rebel, a salt-and-pepper purebred schnauzer, was stolen from his backyard in April while his owner, 53-year-old Marla Devoe, was hospitalized, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Devoe told the newspaper she suspects someone she knows dognapped Rebel and gave him to a family moving to Moreno Valley.

Rebel proved himself worthy of his name when he ran away from his Moreno Valley home on Feb. 2. Animal Control officers found him and another dog running loose together.

The newspaper says Rebel's microchip identified his owner as Marla Devoe, the same day the Moreno Valley family showed up to claim him. They told authorities they were relatives of Marla Devoe.

Rebel was released to the family, but the company operating the microchip notified Devoe that her dog had been found in Moreno Valley. She contacted animal control, told them she had no family in California and sent documents proving her ownership of Rebel.

An animal control worker and a police officer came to reclaim Rebel. The family, who wasn't identified, turned him over without resistance and Devoe told the paper she didn't know yet if she'll press charges for grand larceny and identity theft.

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