Denver daycare owner says service dog taken from yard, sightings reported across Highlands

A Denver daycare owner is desperately searching for her missing service dog after she says the animal was taken from her yard earlier this month.

For the last week, Hannah Cummins has been canvassing her Highlands neighborhood looking for Opal, a 6-year-old chihuahua-greyhound mix she says disappeared from her yard May 16.

"She's been with me for six years. I rescued her six years ago, and it's just really hard," Cummins said.

Cummins said Opal was lying in the sun outside while she moved furniture inside her home near Pecos Street and 33rd Avenue. When she came back a short time later, the dog was gone.

"She was just in the sun laying down, and I went back in the house," Cummins said.

She does not believe Opal simply ran away because the dog is trained to work with children at her daycare.

"She works with kids who are having any social, emotional needs," Cummins said. "When they're first coming into the school, when they're transitioning, she works with them one on one."

Children at the daycare have also struggled with Opal's disappearance.

"She kind of just made me feel like if I was sad or something, she would kind of support me," said 7-year-old Layla, who has known Opal since she was a baby.

Neighbors and a nearby business have reported seeing a man experiencing homelessness with a dog matching Opal's description, according to Cummins.

"There's multiple people that have said that they've seen Opal," she said.

But Cummins said the search has also led to scams, including people asking for money or her personal information, as well as fake AI-generated videos claiming to show the missing dog.

"The video was the one that got me really upset," Cummins said. "It's like they took an AI video somehow. But you can tell it's AI."

Cummins has filed a police report with the Denver Police Department and is asking anyone with information about Opal's whereabouts to come forward.

"I don't care," Cummins said. "I just want her home."

Anyone who has information on Opal's whereabouts is encouraged to contact the DPD.