The search for a stolen vehicle in Oliver containing the owner’s dog has ended on a somewhat happy note.
Newspaper carrier, Hazel Ellis, was doing her run Sunday when she made a quick stop at a local gas station to drop-off some papers.
An opportunistic thief jumped in Ellis’s vehicle and took-off with her small dog Mia inside.
Ellis put out a public appeal through social media to be in the lookout for her stolen vehicle and dog.
An Oliver resident saw the dog Monday morning walking down main street and returned it to Ellis.
Ellis said Mia is in good health.
“It was very stressful. All my friends were calling me, even people I haven’t talked to in years,” she said.
Ellis said there’s been no sign of her vehicle and said it’s been a rough start to the Christmas season.
“I’m so grateful that I have my dog my dog back that’s the most important thing. The rest is just stuff. And you never really realize how many friends you have and what a nice community we live in.”