Philadelphia mother pleads for return of son's stolen dog: "He needs his friend back"

A mother is pleading for the safe return of her son's dog, who was stolen outside a convenience store in North Philadelphia last weekend.

"I would really, really, sincerely wish somebody would bring my son his dog back," Diane Newman said. "He needs his friend back."

Newman is pleading for the return of her son's dog, Cody.  She says her boyfriend took Cody to a convenience store Sunday, and while inside, someone stole him.

"Dogs are not allowed in the store," Newman said, "so he put Cody on the pole, tied him to the pole right next to the store. Purchased whatever he was purchasing. When he came out of the store, Cody was gone. I have been looking for Cody ever since." 

Newman says her son is 47 years old and has cerebral palsy. When he was 6 years old, he was hit by a truck and was in a coma for a while. She says now he is in a wheelchair. 

"He don't have no friends. He can't really walk," Newman said. "He can talk, but nobody understands him. Only the people who love him understand him. He has nobody. That is his friend. Please bring his friend back."

Newman said she rescued Cody and surprised her son Jamel Newman for Christmas. Now, the two have an inseparable bond.

"He looked like he needed a home," Newman said, "and we looked like we needed him. We brought him home, and it took a while for him to get connected and attached. Took us a while too. We did. We fell in love. Cody has been our baby since."

Newman said the dog meant everything to her family and was her son's best friend and companion. She said she exhausted all options looking for him."

"He keeps asking me every time I go outside and come back in, 'Did you find my dog yet, Ma, did you find my dog?' And I'm trying. I did all. I did everything a person can do to find this dog," Newman said. "Can you please, please bring my dog back home, please?"

Newman said she hopes whoever took Cody will do the right thing and bring him home.

"I understand sometimes when you do the wrong thing," Newman said. "None of us are perfect. I am not perfect. Nobody in the world is perfect, but my son needs his dog."