A dog named Bear gets a bear hug after car theft
Little Shih Tzu/Pomeranian spends a lonely, cold night after dognapper dumps auto
Bear is a big name for a little dog but he did have the chutzpah to pull through a harrowing dognapping Friday night.
The playful white-and-brown Shih Tzu/Pomeranian crossbreed spent a lonely cold night in his owner’s abandoned, stolen car, while his family, police and people on social media tried to find him.
It all started outside The Source store on Highway 5 in Waterdown. Bear was briefly left alone in a 1997 Mercedes-Benz left running at 6:30 p.m. when someone jumped inside and took off in the vehicle.
Kathy Capriotti said she was in the store talking to salespeople about a cellphone plan when her boyfriend Bob Vanderveld — waiting in the car in the parking lot with her dog — won-
dered what had happened to her. He drove to the front entrance of the store and got out of the car to quickly look inside to try to find her.
“He was only away from the car for 30 seconds. When he looked back, it was gone,” said Capriotti, 59.
“I didn’t care about the car. My only concern was the dog.”
But within an hour there was a break in the case. Someone had driven off without paying for gas at a station on Highway 6 in Flamborough. Surveillance video showed the car was Capriotti’s stolen Mercedes, and Bear could be clearly seen jumping around inside the vehicle.
By 7:30 a.m. the next day, police had arrested a woman suspect in downtown Hamilton and learned that the car had been left in a parking lot in Burlington, near Guelph Line. A woman in her 30s has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, theft over $5,000 and theft under $5,000 in connection with the incident.
Police asked Capriotti and Vanderveld to meet them at the lot later Saturday morning.
A Halton police officer opened the unlocked door, and the dog came running out.
“He was jumping all over me. I just broke down in tears of relief,” she said.
“I’m so grateful for all the help,” she said. “The police were wonderful.
“My daughter had it on social media and the post was shared more than 2,000 times.” However, Acting Staff Sgt. Richard Vanderboom said social media did not play a role in the arrest and recovery of the car and dog.
He said he could empathize with the family, worrying about their pet.
“Obviously, the dog was the bigger concern. A dog is a family member and ... I think everyone would agree that the emotional issue here is not necessarily the vehicle but the fact that a family member was missing,” he said.
“The fact that we were able to reunite them is a great news story. It’s just before Christmas and we wouldn’t want to be moving forward through the Christmas season with a member of someone’s family missing.”
Capriotti says as far as she can tell Bear was not harmed.
“I wish he could tell me what happened,” she said.