An 11-week-old golden retriever puppy is safe and back at his Edmonds home after being stolen from a pickup truck parked at Lynndale Park Monday.
The dog’s family had been at Lynndale Park, 18927 72nd Ave. W., for a Little League game on March 20. The family’s two dogs, a golden retriever puppy named Blewett and a 9-year-old lab/Chesapeake mix named Bella, had been inside a locked truck canopy while Jarah Boling of Edmonds, and her husband were watching their 7-year-old son play baseball.
Boling’s husband walked the dogs and locked them back under the canopy. When he returned to the truck less than an hour later to check on the dogs again, the 11-week-old puppy was missing.
“They were able to pry open one side of the canopy truck door, so they were able to get the puppy, but not the dog,” Boling said.
In the moment, she said, they panicked. They looked all around the park for Blewett, and took Bella out of the truck to see if she could find him, but they had no luck.
“My 7-year-old was totally devastated,” Boling said.
Blewett’s owners contacted police and took to social media, posting that the dog was missing on several community pages. The family also posted fliers all around Lynndale Park, hoping to find their puppy. They offered a $500 reward, and Edmonds restaurant A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill offered a $1,000 reward, even though Boling said she has never met the owners. (She later contacted Taki Tiki, and the owner told her he has had golden retrievers and he just wanted to see the puppy return home.)
Then, on Wednesday, someone in Lake Stevens contacted Boling saying they may have found the dog — it matched the description given and had a blue collar. A couple of hours later, though, the finders texted Boling to say they weren’t sure it was the right dog and then did not respond to any messages, Boling said.
Boling told Lynnwood Police about the contact in Lake Stevens, she said. A couple of hours later, the officer called her to say he had a puppy at the station and invited Boling’s husband to see if it was their dog.
“It was so cute, when my husband brought Blewett home last night, I knew it was totally him and Bella just started jumping and licking,” Boling said. Eventually, the puppy stopped playing and walked right to the area of the kitchen where the water bowl is.
Lynnwood Police is investigating the original theft of the puppy, but due to what Sgt. Sean Doty describes as “dogged determination,” Sgt. Jason Valentine was able to make at least one arrest on Thursday. Further details of the arrest were not immediately available.
–By Natalie Covate
I’m so happy they got Blewett back!
Just a terrible thing to have happen. What an emotional punch in the gut. SO GLAD it has a happy ending. I hope perPETraiters are Caught and held accountable.
So glad it has a happy ending!
And applause for Taki Tiki! What a kind thing to do!
Taki Tiki is such a wonderful community member…another reason we play their free trivia every Thursday evening.