Social Media Helps Owner Get Stolen Puppy Back
DENVER (CBS4) - After disappearing during a home burglary, a 4-month old puppy has been reunited with her owner in Denver.
Sunni Nucci says on June 3, Bella, a Shih-Poo mix, was stolen during a burglary at her home on Beach Court. Since the burglary, posts of Bella's picture and information have been shared more than 5,000 times on social media. People who Nucci does not know have made donations to a fund established to raise a cash reward for Bella's return.
"It's just amazing how many people love animals, and want to do the right thing by the animal," Nucci says.
Despite not having any leads on who may have taken Bella, Nucci refused to give up hope, and on Sunday finally got the news she had been waiting for.
Nucci received a phone call from a woman who said she had Bella. The woman told her she'd purchased Bella for $200 from a woman selling puppies in the parking lot of the Mile High Flea Market on Saturday.
The next day, when she bathed the dog, she told Nucci a black dye ran off her coat, revealing someone had attempted to disguise Bella's distinctive white paws.
A relative of the woman had seen Nucci's posts about Bella. Putting the information together, the woman used Facebook to reach out to Nucci and return her dog.
"Even in a day this dog is easy to fall in love with," Nucci said, "So I really admire her for doing the right thing, as soon as they saw us together they knew she was my dog and just gave her over to me."
Nucci added, "I feel so lucky, you know it's a needle in a haystack, and if my friends hadn't forwarded all those posts and you guys hadn't broadcast it, I'm not sure that the net would have gotten wide enough for that family to know that she belonged to someone else."
The family who returned Bella did not want to be identified or interviewed for this story. On Monday, Nucci met with the family again, to give them the $2,000 cash reward she promised on social media. Initially, she says, the family did not want to take the money, but Nucci says she hopes they can use it to buy a puppy of their own.
"I think people like that should be rewarded," Nucci said. "It was hard for them to give her up, and they still stepped forward."
Nucci says police are hoping fingerprint evidence leads them to the woman who allegedly sold the stolen puppy. After seeing Nucci's story, ADT installed a security system at her home for free.
Lauren DiSpirito is CBS4's Northern Newsroom reporter. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.
