Three-legged dog stolen along with car in Arcadia returned to owner

1003_NWS_PSN-L-DOGFOUNDARCADIA — A three-legged dog stolen along with a car from an Arcadia shopping mall earlier this week was reunited with its owner with help from a good Samaritan, police said.
Luna the schnauzer was inside a Honda Accord that was stolen shortly after 8 p.m. fro ma parking lot on the south side of the Westfield Santa Anita, 400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia police Sgt. John Bonomo said.
The owner of the car and dog, Alberto Gonzalez of Alhambra, was shopping inside a store when his keys, then his car, were stolen, Sgt. Tom LeVeque said.
“He set down his keys while trying on some shoes,” the sergeant said. When the man went outside, his 2004 Honda Accord was gone, along with his dog.
The car was recovered a little more than two hours later in Bell Gardens, LeVeque said. Some personal items had been stolen, but the car was undamaged.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the victim, Robert Yantz of Sierra Madre spotted the schnauzer in the area of Baldwin Avenue and Huntington Drive, the sergeant said. He took the dog home to look for its owner.
But when Yantz saw a Pasadena Star-News article Wednesday describing the theft of the car and dog, LeVeque said he realized the schnauzer belonged to the victim and contacted Arcadia police.
Luna and Gonzalez were reunited Wednesday afternoon.
Yantz and Luna were already at the police station when Gonzalez arrived to retrieve his pet, LeVeque said. The dog owner called out to the animal from across the lawn, and Luna ran toward him.
“For having three legs, it ran like the wind,” LeVeque said.

PHOTO courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department

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