Pocatello woman offers $1,000 reward after emotional support dog was taken at Revive @ 5

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A Pocatello woman was enjoying her night at the weekly festival in the historic downtown area when suddenly her Chihuahua, Gizmo, was stolen from her by a young girl.

Angela Benningfield is offering $1,000 for the return of her emotional support dog.

On June 24, Benningfield and her niece were sitting near Lookout Point's pavillion enjoying the live music. She allowed two boys, whom she says were around 16 years old, to play with and hold her dog during the concert.

"I was going to leave and they asked to hold my dog one more time, and I felt like they were, in hindsight, holding me up," Benningfield recalled. "My niece and I proceeded to walk over to the side of the library to go to my car and another girl about 16 came up behind me and asked to hold my dog."

Benningfield said she was worried the girl would think she was prejudiced if she allowed the boys to hold her dog but not her, so she complied. As soon as the girl got hold of Gizmo, she unclipped his leash and took off running, even losing her two Crocs shoes in the process.

Benningfield recalls the girl running quickly down the sidewalk in front of the Marshall Public Library towards Pocatello High School and into a nearby alleyway. She tried to catch her, but said the boys from earlier were shouldering her and pushing her out of the way, leading Benningfield to believe the teenagers were working together to steal her dog.

When she couldn't catch up, she resorted to yelling at onlookers to follow the girl with Gizmo.

"People who followed her said they believed she got into around a 2000 extended cab Chevy Silverado, burgundy in color," she said. "Please, if you see my dog Gizmo, you can contact me at 208-671-1458."

Gizmo is Benningfield's emotional support dog, and she claims to have had him since he was a 7-week-old puppy, making the loss much harder. "Gizmo is very special to me," she said. "I would really like to get him back, and if anyone knows where my dog is or the girl's name that has my dog, I have the thousand dollar reward."

Benningfield also said she's learned a lesson through this experience.

"I've learned a valuable lesson not to let anybody hold your dog, pet your dog," she explained. "Keep your dog safe."

Gizmo is microchipped, so she is hopeful he could be found by a veterinarian. Police lieutenant Akilah Lacey said he recommends getting your dogs microchipped.

"Our dogs are part of our family, but unfortunately, by law, they are property," Lt. Lacey explained. "We will go and research it just like as if it was a stolen vehicle or stolen jewelry or whatever it may be."

Lt. Lacey said they will do all their due digilence in dog theft cases– checking with local animal control officers and the humane society to ensure the dog isn't in a shelter, and then treating it as an investigation like any other crime.

"Finding any witnesses, cameras, neighbors, all that stuff to see what we could find," he said. "We know that if you're like me, your dogs are your family. So I know the stress would be absolutely horrible, but we won't give up, they're just so important to people."

The Pocatello Police Department confirmed that even if a case says "inactive" in their system, that doesn't mean they'll give up on finding a lost or stolen dog. He also said sometimes civil cases can come up regarding dog theft, adding to the complications and moving parts of a case, however the PPD will treat it as any other crime.

If you know anything about the case of Gizmo, please contact Angela Benningfield via Facebook or by phone at 208-671-1458.