ST PAUL, Minn. — A prized German Shepherd therapy dog stolen from a family on St. Paul's east side is home where he belongs Friday.
The dog, named Earnest, was stolen from a fenced-in yard in the 900 block of Arcade Street on the city's east side on Sept. 10. On Friday morning around 8 a.m. a man called 911 to report he saw a dog matching Earnest's description walking down Lawson Avenue with someone.
Officers responded, picked Earnest up and delivered him to his owners. The man who was walking with the dog told police he found the dog on the city's east side. Investigators are talking to him to determine if he is the person who took the dog.
It's always a significant loss when a dog is stolen from its family, but Earnest is extra special. "He was a very calm, loving dog for a German Shepherd. He was a therapy dog," said Kayla Sibila, a co-owner of the dog, after he had disappeared.
Earnest serves as a therapy dog for the 7-year-old son of Sibila's boyfriend, Zane Vang.
It was around 1:30 in the morning Sept. 10 when a neighbor's security camera captured the moment someone was seen pacing back and forth just outside their gate.
In the video, you can see the person scoping out the property with a flash light just moments before Earnest is seen trotting out the gate, with the suspect following.
"He never runs away from home," said Sibila.
While all this was going on down at the entryway to the yard, the owners were actually upstairs and say they heard Earnest barking but didn't think anything of it.
"It's disappointing within myself, that we heard it," said a tearful Sibila. "Thought it was just another person riding a bike and barking or something."
Now the question is: Who would be so cruel to run away with a young boy's therapy dog, which was serving as a sense of peace and calm amid these tough times?
Sheila Metz, co-owner of Lindenhill German Shepherds who bred Earnest, has her own suspicions of who could potentially be behind it.
"I suspect it's a friend of a friend of a friend who knows what Earnest is ... otherwise who would open up a big gate with a barking German Shepherd dog," said Metz.
St. Paul police are investigating and a reward was posted for information leading to an arrest -- upwards of $2,000, according to Metz.
Now that Earnest has been found it is unclear if the reward is still active.