Rottweiler puppy stolen in Mooroolbark after Gumtree ad still missing
It’s been more than a week since rottweiler puppy ‘Little Man’ was snatched from his home in Melbourne’s outer east. The nine-week-old’s owners are worried he could be used for fighting but police remain hopeful he will be found.
Outer East
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Concerns are growing for a nine-week-old puppy which has not been found since he was snatched from a Mooroolbark home nine days ago by two men driving a stolen car.
But police say they are hopeful of finding the rottweiler pup.
Liz Hendricks and partner Paul haven’t been able to do much except hope, worry and wait since they watched their puppy be carried from their yard and driven away on Monday, January 27.
“We’re extremely frustrated,” Ms Hendricks said. “I am absolutely distressed.”
They’re getting increasingly concerned for the welfare of Little Man, who received the nickname as he was the runt of the litter.
“We’re worried he could be used for fighting or something like that,” she said.
Stolen at just eight weeks he had only had his first round of injections.
They’re also worried about how ‘Little Man’ will be treated because of the way he was stolen.
He was snatched when two men responded to a Gumtree ad about buying the couple’s remaining two puppies.
The men tried to run from the backyard with both dogs, but only got one into the stolen Ford Falcon they were driving.
After Ms Hendrick’s friend started a Facebook campaign to find the puppy, they received reports it had been sighted at Southern Cross station, accompanied by a photo of a puppy, which they believe is Little Man.
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“I’m worried because he’s been shuttled from one place to another,” Ms Hendricks said.
Eastern Region Crime detective Sergeant Tristan Snow said they were looking at a series of offenders over a range of related incidents.
He said detectives believed they had identified the men responsible for the theft and were now working on arresting them and successfully seizing the puppy.
Sgt Snow said recovering the puppy was the “main focus at the moment”.
“We’re hopeful to find it,” he said.
The owners have received support from thousands of people online, with posts dedicated to finding the puppy shared more than 6000 times on Facebook.
“All the best Little Man, we can only hope God returns you,” Ms Hendricks posted.