From Deseret News archives:
Oh, where has his little dog gone?
2 boys asked to pet Crystal, then took her
Robert Booth's purebred miniature dachshund, "Crystal," was stolen from under his nose nearly two weeks ago, and he's begging for someone to bring her back.
"I'm devastated," Booth said. "Not only for the loss of the dog but for how they took it."
Booth was sitting on the porch of his home, in the area of 1700 South and 700 East, when two boys believed to be 10 or 11 years old asked if they could pet his dog, who was sniffing around in the front yard.
"They took the dog behind my back and I felt it come off the leash and they took off running down the street," he said. He watched the boys get into a vehicle that was driven by an older boy and as it sped off, Booth recorded the license plate number.
Police traced the plates but found that they weren't current and that the car had been owned by several people; therefore attempts to locate the thieves were unsuccessful.
However, Booth has taken it upon himself to locate his little friend.
"It doesn't take long to get attached to a dog," he said. He had only just purchased Crystal, who was 7 weeks old, and was in the process of training her.
Aside from driving around the neighborhood to look for his dog, he's posted fliers, mailed letters of notice to local high schools and veterinarians and placed dozens of phone calls in his struggle to gather information on the whereabouts of his dog.
"I haven't stopped," he said. "I've done everything I can think of."
Booth said he's owned dogs all his life but has never had anything like this happen.
"The request was not a strange one; people loved to pet my dog," he said. "Of course I trusted them. I've never had a dog stolen from me before."
Booth believes that the thieves who took his dog were aware of her value — which he says is approximately $650.
"If those kids are willing to do that now, it's just the beginning of the end for them," Booth said.
He is offering a $100 reward for the return of his dog and has offered a "no questions asked" policy to the boys who took her.
Anyone with information is asked to call 599-1899.
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com
