On Tuesday, Kiertz, Furbush, and their 4-year-old rescue, Harley, were driving to their newly-purchased home and made a quick pitstop in Milford to pick up a few items. They left the car running for Harley, locked the door, and took the keys with them. But when they returned, both the dog and the car were gone.
Their car was stolen with their dog inside, and a Connecticut family is crediting social media for helping to bring him home.
“Oh my God. Tears. We were both crying,” said Alex Furbush. “And we're so thankful for the good Samaritans out there.”
It’s a reunion that came together with a lot of help and a little luck, but before that, it was a race to find Harley.
“He’s my buddy. I love him so much, and not knowing what was going to happen was so scary. We searched for hours for him,” said Chris Kiertz.
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On Tuesday, Kiertz, Furbush, and their 4-year-old rescue, Harley, were driving to their newly-purchased home and made a quick pitstop in Milford to pick up a few items. They left the car running for Harley, locked the door, and took the keys with them. But when they returned, both the dog and the car were gone. They imagined the worst.
“Not knowing where he was and knowing that he could potentially spend the night in sub-freezing cold temperatures, it was scary,” said Kiertz.
The couple called police and then put out a plea on social media to find Harley. They didn’t think it would do much, but they wanted to try anything. In a matter of hours, it was shared thousands of times. And miles away in New Haven, that made the difference.
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Kiertz and Furbush say a maintenance worker saw Harley pacing around the abandoned car in a parking lot behind a convenience store in New Haven. The worker went back to work but saw a short time later that the dog was still there, so he decided to take the pup home.
“I don’t know how he got Harley to go with him peacefully because he’s not exactly great with strangers,” said Furbush. “Got him to go back to his apartment, and I guess a neighbor saw him and said, ‘that’s the dog that’s all over Facebook right now.’”
Furbush says the worker managed to get in touch with her brother to let them know Harley was safe.
“He said, ‘I have your dog. I think I know where the car is too,’” said Furbush.
About five hours after the theft, Harley was back where he belonged. His family says he’s completely fine and happy to have the extra treats and attention. Although a lot of the items they’d packed in the car for the move are now gone, they say it’s stuff that can be replaced. They’re just grateful to family, friends, police, and complete strangers for spreading the word and helping to get Harley home.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster. I don’t know how to put it into words. We love our dog so much,” said Kiertz.
