Councilmember Kendra Brooks got choked up at City Hall on Thursday as she asked for the public's help in finding her missing dog, who she said was stolen over the weekend.
The 5-year-old miniature poodle named Buzz was last seen at 15th and Wingohocking streets on Saturday in Nicetown, Brooks said. The family adopted the dog during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Philadelphia Police said they responded to a call around 3 p.m. Saturday that the dog escaped through a gate while it was in the backyard. Security footage from a nearby store showed the animal with a man, who told police he found the dog wandering around and gave it to two women in a gray Nissan who claimed they were the dog's owners.
Brooks' office said they were able to get Ring video of the vehicle but not the license plate, and that police have no credible leads at this time.
The dog wasn't wearing a collar or tags, but he is microchipped so a veterinarian or shelter would be able to identify him. Brooks said she does not plan to press charges if he is found, and that she, her daughters and grandchildren are devastated by the loss.
"I'm just asking if you have my dog, you can drop him off at any animal shelter or high school, and he will be reconnected with our family," Brooks said during Thursday's City Council meeting.
Councilmember Cindy Bass, a self-proclaimed dog-lover, also showed her support to Brooks. Bass, who is a board member at Animal Care and Control Team, noted the overcrowding in the city's animal shelters.
"I'm enraged about the theft of any dog because I know that on any given basis, any given day, we probably take in between 12 and 20 dogs that aren't coming back out," Bass said. "So if you want a dog, don't steal somebody else's, go and get your own."
Anyone with information has been asked to call Brooks' office at (215) 686-0461.
PhillyVoice staff writer Michael Tanenbaum contributed to this report.