UPDATE: Luc has been located and recovered safe and sound. More to come
A Kelowna couple is offering a $2,000 reward after their family dog was stolen from a parked car in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Lesley and Tim Spiegel were in Vancouver to visit with family when they stopped to have soup from a restaurant at Main Street and 15th Avenue.
Nineteen-month-old, 10-pound Luc stayed in the car while they dined.
“Half an hour later, 45 minutes, we came out and the window was smashed and our dog Luc was in his travel bag — we always travel with him in his bag — and the bag was gone with Luc in it,” said Lesley.
Luc is a Coton De Tulear, and the Spiegels say he has a microchip, as well as a dime-sized hernia on his belly.
The couple spent Saturday putting up posters, hoping that whoever nabbed their dog will return him, or drop him off at a local vet or the SPCA.
“Maybe they just saw the bag and thought there was something in the bag that was of value and they took him,” said Lesley.
WATCH: Wheelchair-bound man reunited with stolen dog
“We just hope they find compassion in their heart to return him to us.”
Susan Patterson, founder of Thank Dog I Am Out Rescue Society was helping with the search and has been canvassing the Downtown Eastside where she says she’s helped find stolen dogs in the past.
“It seems like it’s on the rise, and they’re brazen too. The dogs are disappearing,” she said.
“Somebody knows something about the dogs, and in my experience, the word gets out and we get contacted and both outcomes were positive. I’m hoping for a positive outcome with Luc as well.”
Patterson assisted with the search for Mishah, a Chihuahua stolen from East Hastings in December.
READ MORE: Small dog found after being stolen off its leash outside New Westminster store
That pup turned up in the Downtown Eastside, and was recovered after a good Samaritan, who saw the outreach efforts on social media, phoned police.
The Spiegels are hoping they’ll have some of that same good luck, and be reunited with Luc.
The couple will meet with volunteers at Piegeon Park at noon on Sunday who will fan out across the neighbourhood.
“We are very fond of him,” said Lesley.
“We just want his safe return.”