(CHICAGO) A man has offered a $5,000 reward for the return of his dog Barnaby, who he said was stolen from his West Loop apartment last week.
Adam Johnston, 30, who lives by himself in the apartment near Lake and Canal streets, said his apartment was broken into between 1:19 p.m. and 1:36 p.m. Monday, May 18.
He came home about 5 p.m. but Barnaby, a 6-year-old West Highland white terrier, was not in his usual place on the couch, Johnston said.
“My dog is usually sitting on the couch and he usually pops his head up and runs to me, but he wasn’t there,” Johnston said, adding that he confirmed the dog walker had dropped the dog off about 1:15 p.m. that day.
Johnston said he noticed someone had pried the apartment door open “with a screwdriver or something,” and he realized someone had broken in and stolen the dog.
The building’s surveillance video footage shows a car pulling up to the building’s garage, a man getting out of the passenger side and walking through the parking garage. A few minutes later the man walks outside carrying Barnaby under his arm and gets back in the vehicle, which then drives off.
“I’m worried,” Johnston said. “I’m not sure who the hell these guys are and why they took my dog. . . . They showed up about two minutes after my dog walker left the building; they were watching my dog walker. This doesn’t make sense.”
Johnston called Barnaby “the sweetest dog you could ever have.” He has owned him since the dog was 4 months old.
Nothing else was stolen from the apartment, Johnston said.
“They were coming for my dog and they only took my dog,” he added. “There’s a tablet worth $1,000 right there and they didn’t touch it.”
Johnston has offered a $5,000 reward for Barnaby’s return with no questions asked. He said Chicago Police are investigating the theft.
“Whenever I get home he’s always there and always really excited to see me, it’s really sad him not being there.”
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