CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A man is facing larceny charges after allegedly stealing a dog in Cambridge — and the dog’s owner was reunited with his best friend after the suspect was spotted with the pet by a 7NEWS crew Saturday.
Officers responding to Memorial Drive around 12:30 p.m. on Friday were told someone broke into a parked car and took a 13-month-old German Short Haired Pointer named Titus, police said. The man was caught on camera walking the dog over the Boston University Bridge.
And when a 7NEWS crew was filming at the scene of the alleged theft later in the day, they saw Titus with a man walking by. They stopped the man, later identified as Kyle Gariepy, 29, of Boston, and he said the alleged theft was a misunderstanding.
“He was just barking in the car and I walked past the car and I thought it was supposed to be a dog I was dog walking,” Gariepy said. “It wasn’t a kidnapping it was just a simple mistake.”
But police said Gariepy never called them or the owner, whose phone number was on Titus’ dog tags. Gariepy said he tried to call but the phone was broken.
The news crew called police and Gariepy was arrested and charged with larceny of more than $1,200 and breaking and entering into a vehicle to commit a felony. And officers brought Titus’ owner, Greg Siesczkiewicz, who had an emotional reunion with his pet.
“I’m just glad that the person came back and I’m just glad that you guys were there,” Siesczkiewicz told 7NEWS. “If anyone ever sees this who question the value of media, social media, broadcast media, this proves it.”
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