Watch CBS News

Pomeranian Held Hostage By Studio City Dog Thief Turned In To Local Petco

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — A Pomeranian that was reportedly dog-napped and held hostage was turned into a local Petco Thursday.

Staci Dutton, of Studio City, told CBS2/KCAL9's Amber Lee her 2-year-old dog "Wolfie" was snatched Wednesday night.

She said the gate to her home in the 12900 block of Bloomfield Street was accidentally left open around 9 p.m., allowing Wolfie and the family's German Shepard got out.

A neighbor was able to grab the German Shepard, but not before a white car drove up and a male suspect grabbed the Pomeranian, stating, "This one's mine," and drove off, Dutton said.

"My dog was out in the yard and someone snatched him. A car came by, a white car, and, before we could get to him, the guy grabbed him and put him in the car and took off," Dutton said.

Wolfie was wearing dog tags with Dutton's cell phone number on them. At around 9:40 p.m., she said she received a call from a blocked number. A man's voice came through, demanding money for the pooch, but didn't specify an amount.

"He used the word 'random' and 'reward' and, you know, just sounded insane and horrible," Dutton said.

The man called a second time and Dutton described him as incoherent.

"He sounded a little out of it," she said.

Hours later, Petco employees say a man in his 30s walked into the store with Wolfie and dropped the dog off. He told them the dog, who's collar had been removed, was given to him by friends and he couldn't take care of it. He wrote down a phone number for employees to call, which was the phone number Dutton had engraved on the collar.

A 20-year-old Petco employee took the Pomeranian home and called the phone number, helping reunite Dutton with Wolfie Thursday.

"You're home now, baby, you're home, and never going outside again," said Dutton, after scooping the pooch up into her arms.

Studio City police are investigating the incident and trying to track down the alleged dog-napper.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.