CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A South Charlotte family is in disbelief after they say a driver stole their pet and never looked back. WCCB Charlotte’s Zane Cina spoke with the owners who are holding out hope they’ll see their dog again.
The Humphreys are in a frantic search to find a member of their family. Pete is a two-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and he is the newest member of the Humphreys family. Logan and her husband Charlie Humphreys said they adopted the dog months ago, and he quickly gained their love.
Logan said she let Pete out into her homes backyard on a rainy Thursday afternoon for a quick potty break, something the family does often. “He’s kind of been the mascot of the block,” Charlie said. “Pretty much everyone knows Pete. And so yeah, when he has escaped in the past, they quickly let us know.” The Humphreys said this time was different and Pete was nowhere to be found. In a panic, Logan said she searched for Pete with no luck finding the short tri-colored dog.
It wasn’t until a neighbor shared a blurry doorbell video that the Humphreys realized their beloved dog wasn’t lost, he was stolen. The blurry video appears to show someone picking up the small dog and then handing him over to a driver. The car that pulled Pete in through the driver side window looks like a silver Honda CRV. “One Samaritan had picked him up, was, I think going to a rescue him and had good intentions and then ended up getting summonsed by the driver,” Logan said.
The couple filed a police report and are hanging posters in hopes someone has seen Pete. The Humphreys have gone door to door in their neighborhood asking if anyone may have captured video of the vehicle driving by to help better identify the driver. They are hopeful CMPD will be able to pull video from a nearby traffic camera that may have captured the cars license plate.
Pete wears a collar with Humphreys’ phone number on it. Logan said the dog is not micro chipped. She described the dog as small and said Pete has “a thin white line between his eyes. And, then he has a brown kind of like blob in the white around his muzzle,” Logan said. “Just very friendly, so he’ll come to you. He’s very approachable.”
The Humphreys are not entirely sure why someone would want to take their pet. The family hopes it is all a mistake but worries there may be a more sinister reason behind the dognapping. “The only thing I truly can come up with is that he’s a thoroughbred Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and that they want to resell this dog,” Logan said.
Humphreys said they are offering $500 to anyone who returns Pete to them. They are willing to negotiate and said Pete is priceless. Charlie said they don’t want to punish anyone, they just want to make their family whole.
WCCB reached out to CMPD, officers said they have no leads at this point. If you have any information on Pete’s whereabouts, the Humphreys family asks that you call or text them immediately at 864-380-6922 or at 864-354-9491.
