Watch CBS News

Pit Bull That Disappeared In Bushwick Found, Reunited With Owner

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn woman and her dog that disappeared Monday night have been reunited.

After three days of searching, Lauren Richeson's pit bull named Lily is back home.

The 3-year-old blue-eyed pup, that Richeson said was rescued from a dog fighting ring in Virginia, was turned in to Animal Care and Control by someone who found her in East New York, the 25-year-old tweeted on Thursday.

"Thank you everyone for the support this has been the worst 3 days of Lilys and my life," she posted to Twitter.

Lily went missing around 11 p.m. Monday after Richeson said she tied the dog to a pole before going into the Tradewise Market near Broadway and Kosciusko Street in Bushwick.

"I ran in and came out," she told 1010 WINS. "Lily's leash was there but she wasn't on the leash."

Richeson ran up and down the street screaming her dog's name and then flagged down a police officer. She said she then rode in the police car and yelled at passersby, asking if they had seen a dog.

"Everybody was pointing, saying, 'Keep going, we just saw a man with a dog,'" Richeson said. "They told me that they saw a short, Hispanic gentleman, with a light complexion and a red shirt, dragging a dog by the collar down the street."

But the search turned up empty.

Richeson said she rode around on her bicycle until 7 a.m., scouring the neighborhood for her missing dog.

She said she feared her beloved pet could end up back in a dog fighting ring.

"She's very friendly, she doesn't bite," Richeson said. "She's fixed, so they can't breed her. She's not violent, so they can't fight her, but she could be a bait dog."

But finally, after days of searching, plastering flyers around the neighborhood and posting messages on Twitter, Lily was found safe.

"Someone turned her into the shelter but she was 'found' 5 miles away from my house," Richeson tweeted.

Richeson also tweeted a "thank you" to 1010 WINS and all the other news outlets who helped get the word out about her missing

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.