Dog Rescued After Hurricane Sandy Gone Again, But Family Believes It's Foul Play
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A family from the Rockaways was reunited with its beloved dog after Superstorm Sandy – but now the dog is missing again, and the family suspects she was stolen.
"It's been miserable around here without her," Leeann Rivera said.
As CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported on Monday night, for Rivera and her kids, life hasn't been the same since their dog, Precious, disappeared from their front steps Saturday.
"One of the kids closed the door, and not even two minutes [later] she was gone," Rivera said. "The leash was still sitting just like this."
Rivera said she is certain the dog was snatched.
It was just seven months ago when the family was separated from and then reunited with the 2-year-old fox terrier mix. When their home was flooded during Sandy, they were forced to leave their Precious behind. Animal rescue crews came in to save the pup, and get her back to her adoring owners, but now Rivera said she is dealing with her loss all over again.
"As far as taking Precious, that's something I can't handle, because it's like taking one of my children," Rivera said.
Just one hour after Precious disappeared, a family friend said she saw a dog matching her description at a Rite Aid drugstore in the area. She said she saw a teenage boy buying a dog collar, and bragging to his friend about his new possession.
Rivera has since been working with her friends and neighbors to find her dog.
Rite Aid would not release its surveillance video to CBS 2, but managers said they would work with police.
Rivera said she has put up posters around the Rockaways, with a little financial help from her daughter, Francine.
"I used my birthday money from my mom to print out pictures and put them up on store windows and everything," Francine Rivera said.
Precious has a chip implanted in her, but it only reveals information about her owners.
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