A New Jersey family has been reunited with their beloved dog that was lost when their car was stolen.

Jacklyn Katz said her family brought Bauer, a 15-week-old Australian labradoodle, home to Madison just over three weeks ago.

"He is a very sweet puppy," she said. "And, obviously, we fell pretty hard and quickly for him."

On Monday night, Katz took the new pup with her to run some errands. She stopped at a CVS on Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park.

"But I did leave the car running because I was afraid of him freezing," Katz said. "And then I ran in for my prescription, I came out, and my car was gone and my dog was gone."

Katz said the car was driven to Newark before the GPS system was disabled.

Tuesday afternoon, Katz had a desperate plea for the thief.

"You can have the car. Just please give me my dog back," she said.  

Tuesday evening, Katz told CBS News New York a woman reached out to her family on the lost pet website PawBoost and said she found Bauer on I-78. The good Samaritan met up with the family and reunited them with Bauer.

Katz said she has learned the hard way not to leave the car running. She hopes others will, too.

"I obviously am going to have to live with this decision for the rest of my life," she said. "And I will deal with it the best that I can."