‘He’s microchipped — why didn’t you take him to a vet or shelter to be scanned?’: Dog thief claims she was searching for the pup’s owner gets caught by clever dog walker who knew the perpetrator was up to no good

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Nov 19, 2025 2:00 PM EST

While cat burglars have quite the clever reputation behind them, the same cannot be said for the canine kind of thieves. Or at least the people who would be brainless enough to steal a doggo from their family. At least that was the case for this dog thief featured in today's story, who seemingly had no idea how to commit a crime and get away with it.

Especially seeing as she took quite the distinctive kind of dog, and then pretty much returned to the scene of the crime. At least in the sense that she took the dog from a neighborhood that she lived in. As though there would be no chance of getting caught with the dog in the same area it was taken from. Thankfully, she made little to no fuss about returning the pupper when confronted, meaning the poor pupper did not have to suffer any kind of extra stress.

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  • 01
    Bomi is Home!! I can't believe I'm finally able to say this - Bomi is home.
    via Rainswamped
  • 02
    The past several days have been exhausting, frustrating, and honestly some of the hardest I've ever been through. But in the end, thanks to some incredible people, Bomi is finally back where he belongs.
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    Here's what happened: While tutoring at a Middle School, our dog walker happened to see a woman holding a dog that looked just like Bomi. She wasn't
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    completely sure at first, but then she noticed something that stood out — her little boy said the dog had recently been wearing a green bandana, just like Bomi had when he went missing.
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  • 05
    She contacted me right away, and at the exact same time, a teacher from the school also reached out. Both of them were sure it was Bomi.
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  • Jheez, what a stressful moment to be confronted with. A live, in the moment action status update that your stolen dog has been found and not only that but that the thief has been caught at the same time. A truly unreal event to unfold.

  • 06
    The teacher told me they had already come up with a plan -they wanted to give the woman a chance to do the right thing, but they had also already contacted the police with the information in case she refused.
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    Cheezburger Image 10577478656
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    Later that day, the woman called me, acting like she had always intended to give Bomi back. She said things like, "Oh, I took him to the groomer," and "I've been taking him
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    everywhere with me ― to Target, to stores, all over." She even claimed she had reached out to the groomer we go to. But I knew that wasn't true. We had
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    already contacted our groomer, and they knew Bomi was missing no one had brought him in. Everyone knew. Our dog walker had questioned her directly, asking,
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    "He's microchipped – why didn't you take him to a vet or shelter to be scanned?" The woman just brushed it off, saying, "Oh, I just haven't had time... my son is sick, and I've been sick too."
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  • Wow, that is some weak sauce right there. Like, if you are going to lie about stealing a dog and making no efforts to return it to its pawrents you could at least make some minimal effort to make your lie believable. At least a little. As they say, the semblance of truth lies in the details.

  • 12
    It was painfully clear that she had no intention of giving Bomi back she had him for days, took him everywhere with her, and never once tried to do the right thing.
    via Rainswamped
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    The only reason she finally gave him back was because she was backed into a corner - people knew, the school staff knew, the police knew. This whole thing has been overwhelming and honestly hard to
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    process. Knowing that someone knowingly took Bomi and was content to keep him ― has been incredibly difficult. But what I keep coming back to is the people who
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    refused to let this go ― people who reached out, shared posts, and kept pushing for answers. Without them, I don't know if Bomi would be home right now.
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    IMA
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  • 17
    To our dog walker, the teacher who reached out, the staff at that Middle School, and everyone who supported me— thank you.
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  • 18
    I'm just so relieved that Bomi is finally home where he belongs.
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  • 19
    Su... Omg this is an absolutely horrific story. I'm so sorry that happened to you and I'm so happy that Bomi is back.
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    je... Thank goodness. I'd be losing my mind and hiring detectives.
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searching caught dogs puppy dog walker microchip clever dog owner reddit story dog story vet shelter dogs thief
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