Tip leads Frankfort police to family’s missing dog after Lexington van theft
UPDATE: Charlie was found safe in Frankfort overnight, owner Suzanne Shaffar confirmed Wednesday. Frankfort police contacted Shaffar’s family after an anonymous family called police to report where Charlie and the van were. Charlie was “thirsty and shaken up but otherwise unharmed,” Shaffar said.
A Lexington family is desperately searching for their dog, Charlie, after the van he was in was stolen in Lexington Tuesday.
Charlie, a standard Goldendoodle that weighs about 65 pounds, is a “COVID puppy” that was adopted by the family in June of 2020, owner Suzanne Shaffar said.
Shaffar and her husband were on vacation in Miami Tuesday when her mother-in-law’s vehicle was stolen in Lexington with Charlie inside. Charlie had been left in the van with the air running for about five minutes while Shaffar’s mother-in-law and daughter had stepped into a store on Industry Road near Eastland Drive.
When the two came out of the store, the van, a gold 2012 Toyota Sienna, was gone. Their initial reaction was that Charlie might have somehow knocked the van into gear and it had rolled, but the van and Charlie were nowhere to be found.
The family made a police report on the stolen vehicle. It’s possible that Charlie could have been let loose during the theft, or he might be in the vehicle.
The key was not in the vehicle when it was stolen, so it can’t be easily started again once it’s shut off, Shaffar said.
Family and friends in Lexington were searching for Charlie, and Shaffar and her husband have booked the earliest flight home, she said. The family has also posted a $1,000 reward for Charlie’s safe return.
“It’s no questions asked,” Shaffar said. “I don’t care about the car; I just want Charlie home.”
Charlie was wearing two collars when he went missing, a blue collar and a collar for an invisible fence from DogWatch. He is also micro-chipped.
“He’s really sweet, he won’t growl or bite anybody,” Shaffar said. “He’s a very kept dog, so to be out and about has to be terrifying for him.”
Anyone with information on Charlie’s whereabouts can call Shaffar at 859-556-9540.
