An East Boston woman’s car, and her dog that was inside it, were stolen on Sunday, police said.
Rose Nese, a lifelong East Boston resident, told the Boston Globe that the incident occurred around 8:45 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of an Orient Heights convenience store.
Nese left her 8-year-old yellow lab, Chief, in her car as she ran into in the market. Nese had left the keys in and the air condition running, and then both her vehicle and her pet were gone when she came out just minutes later.
According to surveillance footage obtained by CBS Boston, a white middle-aged man wearing a blue jacket, black pants and with a neon yellow or green backpack slung over his shoulder was seen driving off in the car, a white Hyundai Sante Fe.
Harbor Hounds, a dog day care center in East Boston, shared a photo of Chief on its Facebook page on Sunday.
“Today someone stole our client’s car in East Boston up in Orient Heights with Chief the yellow lab in it,” the post reads. “Chief is beyond friendly and will come if you call him.”
The post also noted that Nese’s car can be identified by an Italian flag sticker on the back windshield and with the Massachusetts license plate number 6ZG 441.
A nonprofit called Missing Dogs Massachusetts also shared a photo of Chief on Facebook, asking people to share the post. Chief has “severe” allergies, according to that post, and is in need of medication and prescription food.
“I just want him home safe,” Nese told the Globe. “He’s very lovable, he’ll go to anybody, anything, he really doesn’t know what harm is… He trusts everybody.”
A Boston police spokesman confirmed that a police report about the incident was filed on Sunday. There have been no reports since, as of Monday morning, to indicate that the dog or the vehicle have been located yet, police said.
