This story may have had a "ruff" ending, but journalists saved the day.
A stolen dog is now finally reunited with his owner in the Boston area after the reported kidnapper was spotted by a news crew and gave an interview.
The 13-month-old German Short Haired Pointer named Titus was taken from a parked car around 12:30 p.m. on May 7, according to WHDH.
Police received surveillance footage that showed a man walking the dog over the Boston University Bridge. However, when the news crew was filming at the scene, they suddenly saw the man walking with Titus.
The journalists then asked the man for an interview in which he said the theft was a misunderstanding. Officials later identified the man as 29-year-old Kyle Gariepy.
“He was just barking in the car and I walked past the car and I thought it was supposed to be a dog I was dog walking,” Gariepy said. “It wasn’t a kidnapping it was just a simple mistake.”
Authorities reported that the 29-year-old did not reach out to the police or the owners. The contact information for the owners was on Titus’ dog tag. However, Gariepy said he tried to contact them, but his phone was broken.
Gariepy was arrested on charges of larceny of more than $1,200 and entering and breaking into a car to commit a felony.
As for the excellent news, Titus was eventually returned safely to his owner, who was thankful for the news crew.
“I’m just glad that the person came back and I’m just glad that you guys were there,” his owner, Greg Siesczkiewicz, said. “If anyone ever sees this who question the value of media, social media, broadcast media, this proves it.”
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