Another Day, Another Stolen Dog

March 14, 2015

Morgan Fogarty,

[gtxvideo vid=”vyvKNBoE” playlist=”” pid=”Bbt3TRDe” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/vyvKNBoE.jpg” vtitle=”dog stolen”]

WAXHAW, N.C. – “I’ve never had a dog that meant so much to me,” says Waxhaw resident Jesilyn Rushing. Her three-year-old bull mastiff “Layla,” (for identification purposes, Rushing points out the dog has a noticeable underbite) was taken from her fenced in back yard in Waxhaw Thursday.

Rushing recalls seeing suspicious cars and people in the area recently and doesn’t think her beloved pet went willingly. She points to claw marks in the mud near the gate. She says, “I’m sure she was digging (in), trying to get back out (of their grip) but they just had a good hold of her.”

Rushing says 130-pound Layla doesn’t approach people easily and has never gotten out of the yard or even tried. She filed an incident report with the Union County Sheriff’s Office. It’s the only report that’s been filed since social media started blowing up with posts of local stolen dogs. “It’s shocking to me that no one in the area has filed a police report with all the dogs being stolen,” she says.

One puppy was reportedly stolen from a yard in the Stallings / Matthews area. At last check, the post has been shared 271 times, but law enforcement agencies tell us no one has filed a police report. And another dog, nearly stolen in Matthews. Its owner says “Peg” was snatched out of her backyard, but several passersby then saw the dog be “dropped out of a silver BMW” a short distance away. Four good Samaritans stopped to help the animal and connected with the owner, who was frantically searching for her. “Peg’s” owner tells WCCB Charlotte she will file a police report.

In the meantime, Rushing is left to hope that somehow she’ll reconnect with her beloved pet, too. She says, “I do think they’ll sell her for money. If somebody does buy it, for whatever amount, call me, I will come get it. I will pay you back.”

There’s no way to tell if all the dog snatchings are related. But be safe: don’t leave your dog unattended. And if you see anything suspicious or if your dog is stolen, don’t wait to file a report.