Texas couple get snatched dog back after Reddit war goes viral

Heidi, a 10-month-old dog that was reported stolen last week during the ice storm, has been returned to her owners by the man who, using a pseudonym, admitted on a social media site that he stole the dog, police confirmed Thursday.

WFAA

Crawford Gupton snuggles with Heidi, his 10-month-old Swiss mountain dog, during a heartfelt reunion on Thursday night.

A Texas dognapper who swiped a young couple's puppy from its enclosure and then taunted them about it on Reddit has returned the pet.

After six days apart, Crawford and Mary Clay Gupton were reunited with their 10-month-old Swiss mountain dog, Heidi, on Thursday night, local WFAA-TV reported.

They even came face to face with the person who nabbed her - but didn't know it at the time, the station reported.

WFAA

Heidi was snatched from her enclosure on Dec. 6. The thief later wrote a post on Reddit, saying he 'saved' the pooch from freezing to death.

"All of a sudden, we saw someone walk down a shopping center with a dog," Crawford Gupton said, describing the puppy handoff. "Mary Clay ran toward the car and I ran after her … I tried to get their name and everything, but I wasn't going to do anything drastic."

"We got the dog, then got in the car and came home," he said.

In a post on Reddit later, the thief, who used the handle "dogthedogsaver," described a more dramatic scene, claiming the couple "charged me and demanded my name."

dogthedogsaver via Imgur

The thief, who used the name 'dogthedogsaver,' taunted the Guptons by posting a photo of the dog along with a note that read, 'Thanks for rescuing me.'

"So much for no confrontation or questions," the dognapper sniffed.

"Oh [by the way], I gave them money to repair the lock and the first words out of her mouth were 'Give me THE f--- dog!' Way to be personally attached to your sweet puppy," he wrote.

RELATED: THIEF STEALS TEXAS COUPLE’S PUPPY, THEN TAUNTS THEM ON REDDIT

WFAA

Crawford and Mary Clay Gupton at their home. The dognapper used an electric saw to bust a lock on the dog's enclosure.

So far, no arrests have been made in the case, though Fort Worth police were still investigating the incident, authorities said.

The puppy thief sawed off a lock from an enclosure and snatched the pooch from the Guptons' Fort Worth home on Dec. 6 because, he claimed, the dog looked as if it was freezing.

Central Texas was hit by a cold snap last week, and temperatures hovered around 20 degrees.

WFAA

'The dog's home and that's good enough for us,' Crawford Gupton told WFAA-TV.

A friend of the couple posted a "lost dog" notice on Reddit, and the thief responded with a scathing note accusing the Guptons of leaving the pooch outside for seven hours and neglecting to feed or bathe it.

The couple said the dog was well cared-for and that it didn't mind being outside in the cold, as it was bred to herd cattle in the Alps.

Animal control officials said they never received any reports about neglect at the Guptons' home, the Star-Telegram newspaper reported.

The couple said it was up to the cops to decide what to do next.

"We actually do know now who had the dog, and they're working through that … the dog's home and that's good enough for us," Crawford Gupton told WFAA-TV.

www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-couple-snatched-dog-back-reddit-war-viral-article-1.1546850

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