HERMOSA — A woman was reunited with her missing dog over the weekend, thanks to neighbors who rallied around her when she asked for help online.
Roscio Martinez’s dog, Luna, a white poodle with black ears, escaped from her yard in the 1600 block of North Kedvale Avenue around 8:45 p.m. on June 16, according to police. The family’s young daughter accidentally left the gate open and the dog ran out into the street, Martinez said.
After weeks of fruitless searching, Martinez and her daughter were stunned when they ran into a man walking a similar-looking dog Thursday night at the park next to North-Grand High School.
“She answered to us when we called her name, ‘Luna,’” Martinez said.
She asked the man where he got the dog; he said it was a gift from a friend a few months ago. Martinez asked if she could film the man’s dog with her daughter and he agreed. She then showed him a picture of Luna and he agreed they looked similar but then walked away, Martinez said.
She posted that video to the Chicago Northside Lost And Found Pets Facebook group early Friday morning. Members of the Facebook group encouraged her to keep pressuring the man she met at the park for more information about where he got the dog.
Block Club reached out to the man and he confirmed Martinez’ account about the dog, whom he called Oriole.
He initially said he had gotten the dog from a friend as a gift but later claimed he purchased it from some “random guy” on his front porch and didn’t know where the dog originally came from.
He also told Block Club that Martinez showed him proof the dog was hers. The man returned Luna on Saturday and asked for the police to not get involved, Martinez said.
While Martinez is happy to be reunited with Luna, she continues to be skeptical of the man’s story.
“[He] gave me another story. Told me he was sorry and that some guy with a mustache he didn’t know sold the puppy to him,” Martinez said. “I didn’t believe him. You don’t buy a dog from some random person on the street like that.”
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