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Dirty and a little smelly after 10 days away from home, Biscuit, the Oakland Yorkshire terrier dognapped from his family’s car, is back at home and reunited with his human companions, his owner said Thursday.
“I’m at peace again, you know. That was a long, stressful 10 days,” the pooch’s owner, Melissa Smith, said. “Everything’s back to normal again.”
The 7-year-old miniature silky Yorkie went missing from Smith’s car in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood on Nov. 5. She suspects he was dognapped, she said after reviewing video surveillance from a restaurant where her car was parked when Biscuit disappeared.
The family scoured the area, visiting homeless
encampments and posting flyers as they sought the “very adventurous and smart” dog. Around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Biscuit was turned over to officers at the Oakland Police Department’s Eastmont substation, she said.
At the station, Smith said, she encountered a woman who told her someone sold her the dog for $700 at a flea market in the city. That story, much like the events surrounding Biscuit’s disappearance, seemed suspicious, Smith said.
Police offered no immediate comment on the circumstances of how the dog was recovered. Oakland police officers had canvassed the area, spoken to people around the Fruitvale neighborhood and called for Biscuit by name shortly before the dog was turned in, said Officer Marco Marquez, an Oakland Police Department spokesman.
Biscuit was in Smith’s car, which was parked outside the Guadalajara Restaurant on Fruitvale Avenue between 12:45 and 1:31 p.m. Nov. 5, when he was swiped. Smith said the restaurant doesn’t allow dogs inside, so she left her car locked and a window cracked while she was in the restaurant for about 45 minutes.
Surveillance video from the restaurant shows a suspicious yellow truck pull up to Smith’s car around the time of Biscuit’s disappearance. Smith suspects the Yorkie was taken from her car by the occupants of the truck.
Smith said her sons, ages 7 and 11, are elated to have Biscuit back. The older of the two was surprised to find Biscuit back at the house when he got home from school.
“He bent down and grabbed Biscuit so hard,” Smith recalled. “He said, “I love you so much, Biscuit.’ ”