A black Labradoodle stolen from a Sherman Oaks home was reunited with her owner Tuesday.
Stella, the 4-year-old Labradoodle, was brought into an Animal Services shelter in Downey Tuesday morning after catching the attention of a man she was following, according to ABC7. The shelter scanned Stella’s microchip and contacted her owner, Barbara Goodhill.
Stella had been stolen from Goodhill’s home during a burglary Friday night.
The burglars stole Stella and some jewelry but left behind her sheep dog Daisy — or Daisy may have been able to elude the thieves, Goodhill said.
“My darling Daisy is so missing her little black sheep. She likes to herd Stella,” Goodhill said earlier this week.
Goodhill said she immediately reported Stella missing to Home Again, the pet microchip company.
“They sent an alert out and within an hour I got a message that Stella had been found. They said she was at an animal hospital in Lawndale,” Goodhill said.
Two men had taken Stella to VCA Advanced Care Center of Lawndale, telling staff they’d found her, she said. But as the attendant got the microchip information, the men slipped out, saying they were taking the dog outside to go to the bathroom, and never returned.
The hospital has surveillance video, which Goodhill hopes police can obtain and use to track down the burglary suspects.
The silver lining in the theft of Goodhill’s dog is the people she has met through the NextDoor app who have been a source of support.
“Strangers have become friends overnight, using their skills to help me crack this.”