Family dogs found safe after car theft in Newlands
A family’s dogs were found hours after being stolen in a vehicle from a Pretoria east shopping centre.
A Pretoria family is overwhelmed with gratitude after its pups stolen in a Toyota double cab at a shopping centre in Newslands on Sunday were returned safe
The dogs were recovered by a community member in Elardus Park.
The owner of the dogs, Lynn O’Reilly, said she and her husband were in Cape Town when they received the devastating call from her in-laws.
“The dogs, Daisy and Jasmine, were in their care at the time, and they had gone shopping at the centre just after 12:00.
While they were inside, the car was stolen from the parking lot with both dogs inside,” she said.
O’Reilly said she and her husband immediately booked the next available flight back to Pretoria and began posting on social media, pleading with the public for help.
“We didn’t waste a minute. We shared pictures, descriptions and everything. We were desperate.”
She stated that seven hours later, while still at the airport, they received the news that the dogs had been found.
“They were picked up by a kind-hearted man in Elardus Park who had seen our post on Facebook.
He realised they were the missing dogs and kept them safe until my in-laws could collect them.”
Although the family are still without their vehicle, O’Reilly said they are overwhelmed with gratitude that their dogs are safe.
“Our dogs are like our children. We can’t live without them,” she said.
She added that now they don’t want to let them out of their sight because they’re scared something could happen again.
O’Reilly confirmed that a case has been opened with the police and that CCTV footage from the SPAR parking lot shows the suspect who drove off with the vehicle.
“The car is a Toyota double cab, registration number YWG 967 GP,” she said.
She thanked everyone who shared their plea online.
Rekord has reached out to police for comment regarding the theft of the bakkie, but no comment was received by the time of publication.
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