Fleefus, a Chocolate Lab

Talk about not trying this at home . . . well, I'm referring to what the woman here does, but then I guess it also applies to what the dog's owners did initially in leaving the dog tied up outside a store. But he could see him through the glass front of the store, and it's easy to understand feeling security in that. It's one thing for someone to "burglarize" which is how I'd classify taking a dog when no one is looking. It's a completely different thing to "rob" which is to take by force or in this case, take the guy's dog when (for all the robber knows) the dog's owner was watching it happen through the glass. Dog and owner were lucky it ended well. Enjoy the story.

February 15, 2009
Stolen dog reunited with owner
By Alex Cooper, Staff Reporter

Fleefus, a chocolate Lab, has been reunited with his owner after a local resident confronted the man who apparently stole him while he was walking the dog in a downtown park.

Fleefus, a 16 month old chocolate lab

Ross Fraser was in total shock when he saw Fleefus was stolen. He couldn't believe someone would be brazen enough to run off with his dog in broad daylight on a busy street.

Fraser had left Fleefus tied up outside St. Jamestown Steak & Chops on Parliament St. at around 5:30 yesterday afternoon while he popped inside.

"I could see him through the plate glass window," he said. "I got distracted by the clerk for a moment; when I looked back, he was gone."

Before he went into the butcher shop, Fraser said a man was petting his 16-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever. He was slightly suspicious because just before he saw that same man playing with another dog and trying to put it inside his black coat.

Witnesses said they saw a man run off with the dog up Parliament St.

But today, Fraser said a woman spotted the suspect walking the dog around Allen Gardens at Jarvis and Gerrard Sts. — a short distance from the crime scene. She recognized Fleefus from posters Fraser had put up in the area.

"That dog is stolen," the woman declared after approaching the alleged thief.

"So, take it," the man responded. "He just dropped the leash and ran off on his bicycle," Fraser explained.

Fraser, who lives in Cabbagetown with his partner Richard Summerbell, said he had been leaving Fleefus tied up outside the butcher shop every Saturday for the past year.

The suspect is described as Asian, in his mid-30s to mid-40s, clean-shaven, and wearing a black coat.

Source: http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?tag=3.7212%3Ficx_id%3D587968
CTV Toronto version of the story below at:
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090215/stolen_puppy_090215/20090215?hub=Toronto

Stolen puppy back home after woman confronts suspect
Updated: Sun Feb. 15 2009 5:52:46 PM

Move over Ace Ventura. Toronto has its own pet detective.

Lori Mark was walking her dog along Sherbourne Street, near Allan Gardens, when a man across the street caught her attention.

Just hours before she had been reading a poster about a chocolate Labrador puppy that was stolen from outside of a neighbourhood butcher shop.

Even from across the street, Mark said she could sense something was amiss about the man riding his bike while holding a chocolate lab by a hot-pink leash.

"It was weird, I looked at the guy and the guy looked back at me and I think he knew I was onto him even from the first moment," she told ctvtoronto.ca hours after the incident.

Mark crossed the street to confront the alleged dognapper but the suspect didn't move. He simply handed her the leash.

"I was incredibly calm," she said. "I was just following my gut really." She said she couldn't help but yell at the man as he rode away on his bike.

Ross Fraser was on the phone with ctvtoronto.ca, retelling the story of how Fleefus, his playful 14-month-old chocolate Labrador, disappeared Saturday afternoon when a neighbour burst into his home with the good news.

"They found the dog, they found the dog!" the woman yelled in the background.

Fraser was told Fleefus was located at the Allan Gardens dog park by a woman who had seen a number of posters about the missing puppy. Fleefus was with a man matching the description of a suspect listed on the poster.

"A woman recognized the dog from the posters," Fraser told ctvtoronto.ca in a rushed, excited voice after getting the update from his neighbour. "She got the dog!"

Fraser was reunited with Fleefus shortly after his neighbour gave him the good news.

"He looks just fine," said Fraser. "He ran up the sidewalk and greeted me. He's happy to be home."

He lauded the woman's courage for going up to the suspect and demanding the dog back. What Fraser didn't know is that it wasn't the first time Mark rescued a stolen pet. Years ago, she found a cat named Mittens in the arms of another woman. She recognized Mittens from a missing pet poster the owner put up in the neighbourhood.

"I was looking for my own missing cat at the time and I noticed Mittens," she said. "I looked at the cat's tag and sure enough, it was Mittens!" She attributed her luck to the detailed posters that owners put up when their pets go missing. Fraser and several friends had stayed up until 4 a.m. Sunday putting up posters all over their Cabbagetown neighbourhood. The posters detailed the colour of the leash, the colour of the dog's collar and a good description of a suspect. Mark said she knew it was Fleefus when she matched his leash, his blue collar and the suspect to the descriptions on the poster.

Fleefus was taken around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, as Fraser ducked inside the St. Jamestown Steak and Chops to pick up his weekly order. Fraser said a man stopped to pet his dog just as he was tying him up outside the Parliament Street shop.

"He had an inordinate interest in Fleefus," he said. Fraser could see Fleefus licking the man's face from the shop window. He looked away to speak to a clerk and when he looked back, the dog was gone. Several witnesses told Fraser they saw the man running up Parliament Street. Fraser gave chase but he lost them around Ontario Street near Carlton Street.

"It's every dog owner's worst nightmare," he told ctvtoronto.ca, before receiving the good news.

"Cabbagetown is a great neighbourhood because you can go out walking with dogs and kids," he added. "That's why so many people were able to help me."

Mark agreed and said she has no doubt other people in the neighbourhood would jump at the chance to save a pet.

"I had a case of a missing animal myself and I was so appreciative when people helped," she said. "I know a lot of dog owners who I know would do the same thing."

Fraser has offered to make a charitable donation to a charity of Mark's choice to show his gratitude. Always keen to save a pet, Mark chose a cat rescue operation.