HOUSTON – A southeast Houston man is pleading for the return of his dog, which was seen on video being taken by someone in a truck after he got out of his house.
Isaiah Rodriguez said it happened on Wednesday, Jan. 17, when his 5-year-old pit bull Dre got loose from his home on Sagewind Drive.
He said Dre accidentally got out through the front door. One of Rodriguez’s cousins tried to catch him, but he bolted down the street.
Rodriguez said they looked for Dre, but weren’t able to find him. On Saturday of that week, Rodriguez got a call from an anonymous person who said she was actually looking for her dog at the same time around 4:40 p.m. on Jan. 17 and thought she saw someone in a truck pick up Rodriguez’s dog.
“She told me the rough location where she remembered it at, the thing is she couldn’t tell if it was like their dog or not so she didn’t intervene,” he said.
Rodriguez said he went to the location given to him by the person and started knocking on doors and asking if anyone had seen Dre. He was able to find people who caught on camera Dre being picked up by a person in a truck at Kirkfair Drive and Sagewillow Lane.
The truck appears to be a Ford F150 platinum, possibly a 2012 model. It possibly has a left taillight that is out, black rims, and a tow hitch.
Rodriguez said Dre was wearing a black collar and a black and gray harness at the time, so whoever took him should have known he had an owner.
“Whoever picked him up knows he wasn’t a stray, that obviously he was being taken care of by someone because he’s a very healthy, fit dog. Very loving, very happy,” Rodriguez said.
He said he has received numerous tips from people at local animal shelters and he himself has looked in his neighborhood, but Dre has been nowhere to be found.
“I’ve had so many people reach out, sending pictures from different shelters and I myself have went in person to multiple, multiple Houston area shelters and also my neighborhood and there was no sign of him there,” he said.
Rodriguez said Dre does have a microchip and if it were scanned he would be notified of it and where his dog was. So far, that hasn’t happened.
“I have no intent of getting anybody in legal trouble, I don’t hate this person, I don’t have any resentment towards them, whether their intent was malicious or it was wholesome in taking care of a dog that maybe they assumed ran out and was alone. I don’t care about intent, all I care about is my dog,” he said.
Rodriguez said he did file a police report with the Harris County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office, but he said he has no intention of pressing charges.
“I have no intent of pressing charges to get anybody in jail or locked up or in trouble, even if their intent wasn’t good, I don’t care, I just want my dog back and I want to let this person know even if they choose not to give them back, I forgive them,” he said.
Rodriguez said there is a $500 reward for whoever can bring Dre home.
If you have any information, please call the Harris County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office at 713-477-4070.