Owner Asks for Help After Car with Beloved Dog Inside Is Stolen, Damaged and Found Empty

By Amanda Thomason May 18, 2022 at 10:30am

It’s one thing to have your car stolen, it’s another to have your car stolen while your furry friend is inside.

That’s the reality Samantha Fullam of Pennsylvania is facing after a thief made off with her car and pup on Saturday.

She ran into Prince Street Cafe, but at some point she thought she saw her car leaving. When she went outside, her car was gone.

“[M]y 2018 blue audi q5 license plate LRA2929 was stolen from continental square in downtown york (pa) 5/14 around 4:30pm from directly in front of the Wells Fargo ATM, my sweet dog wilder was inside (yes, AC was on),” she posted on Facebook.

Her credit card got some hits when the thief tried to make purchases in Philadelphia, and on Monday her car was spotted.

“At 1:30pm that day, the car was involved in a hit and run with a parked vehicle around HUNTINGDON & 4TH,” Fullam’s post continued.

“As of 7pm, we had a lead tell us they saw the car with Wilder in it at CAMBRIA & FRANKFORD. Another lead then said they thought they may have saw Wilder at HUNTING PARK around 8pm.”

On Tuesday morning, the Audi was found and the driver was arrested — but Wilder was nowhere to be found.

“On the morning of 5/17, My car was recovered on Kensington Ave., without Wilder,’ the post continued. “The driver was arrested and is claiming he knows nothing about a dog.”

Fullam is asking for help from locals to keep their eyes open for her missing dog. Wilder is a microchipped border collie/Australian shepherd mix, and he was wearing a chain collar, green harness and rainbow leash.

Fullam has filed reports with both the police and SPCA, and she is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of Wilder.

“I don’t care about the car,” she told the York Daily Record. “My sweet, very anxious puppy, (to) not know what’s happening to him, is really, really hard.

“The people of York, as the people of York always are, being wonderful and very supportive and sharing this far and wide and I think that’s been the most helpful thing so far.”

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