Stolen Dog Is Dyed A Different Color By Thieves, But They Didn’t Pull Off Scheme

A stolen dog was dyed a different color by thieves to disguise her, but their scheme didn’t work. The once blonde pit bull — Cocoa — was changed to a shade of coal.

A dog owner from San Jacinto, California was shocked when she went to the local animal shelter and saw Cocoa. Heather Lowry adopted the animal from San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus recently, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Heather reunited with Cocoa at the Ramona Humane Society.

“She actually recognized me when I went in there to verify it was her. She shakes her whole body as if she were Pluto basically, and she did it again today. She jumped right on (me) and took pictures with me.”

Lowry lost her beloved dog over Thanksgiving weekend. While outside, the eight-month-old pup suddenly disappeared from the yard at home. The pit bull was found roaming the streets by animal control workers from Ramona Humane Society earlier this week. They were able to identify the canine through a microchip that San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus implanted her with.

All county shelters routinely microchip pets that are adopted out. It proved effective in this incident despite the stolen dog being dyed a completely different color.

For her part, Lowry tells CBS 2 Local that she was stunned the thieves took their deception so far by dyeing her dog’s blonde coat.

“When I was called, I didn’t believe it. I was shocked. I didn’t think someone would go so far as to dyeing a dog’s fur to keep them.”

Microchips in dogs and cats is a common identification process that has owner contact information in a large data base. When the animal is scanned, the recorded information shows up on the computer.

Deputy Director of Riverside County Field and Shelter Services, Frank Corvino, says the people who stole Cocoa didn’t do the best job of changing her color. If someone wasn’t looking too hard for their pet, he says it could work.

“We believe it was an act of deception. The dye job is not very good, but it would work if someone’s looking for their missing, reddish-brown dog.”

In 2011, a similar story was reported in Irving, Texas when another eight-month old dog was stolen from an animal shelter and had his fur dyed. The Argentine Dog wasn’t identified by a microchip, but was spotted in surveillance video and by flyers posted around the area.

[Photo Credit: CBS 2 Local]