Stolen Bend dog returned; Philomath woman charged
A Bend man who left his dog on a secured leash outside a downtown Bend game arcade Friday night had a tail-wagging happy reunion early Monday with Kido. Security video footage, a police investigation and plenty of word on social media led to recovery of the stolen dog in Philomath, 130 miles away, and the arrest of a resident there.
Matthew Torney told NewsChannel 21 on Saturday that he’d been walking his 95-pound brown Chesapeake Bay retriever around downtown Bend, then went inside the Vector Volcano Arcade for about 45 minutes, securing the dog’s leash under a heavy pot outside the business.
An officer on foot patrol downtown was stopped by Torney around 10 p.m. and the dog owner reported Kido was missing, Lt. Clint Burleigh said. The officer took the information, but Kido couldn’t be found.
On Saturday, Torney said he got security camera video provided by a nearby business that showed a woman manipulating the leash and taking the dog.
NewsChannel 21 aired a story Saturday and Bend police put the information, with a photo of the apparent suspect, on their Facebook page in an attempt to identify her and get leads to Kido’s whereabouts.
Over the next day, community members shared the information, and shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, police got a call from the suspect’s boyfriend, saying she took the dog because she believed it was “malnourished,” Burleigh said.
Bend police worked with police officers in Philomath and nearby Corvallis, and Corvallis police recovered Kido from the home of the suspect, identified as Sabrina Lynn McCaskill, 41, of Philomath.
McCaskill was charged with first-degree theft of a companion animal, a Class C felony, and issued a citation to appear in Deschutes County Circuit Court, Burleigh said.
A Bend police community service officer brought Kido back to Bend from Philomath. Several officers were on hand for the tail-wagging, barking happy reunion early Monday at Central Oregon Emergency Vet Center.
“This is an opportunity to remind the public that taking something that doesn’t belong to you is a crime,” Burleigh said in a news release
“Under (the) Oregon Finders Law, ‘finders keepers’ does not apply to companion animals, unless all avenues to find the owner are exhausted,” he said. “Failure to do so could result in a felony-level theft charge.”
In Bend, if you find a pet, you’re asked to notify police by non-emergency dispatch (541-693-6911) or the Humane Society of Central Oregon.
“Posting a found pet on one of the many social media pages is a good second step,” Burleigh added, “but that alone is insufficient for those who do not use social media.”
“We’ve heard (through communications regarding this case) that there may be some people in our community who find dogs, and then extort owners to get their dogs back,” the lieutenant added.
“Please report any occurrence of your dog being stolen so we can address the issue. As with any info on crimes that are being committed in our city, call us, enter an online report or send us a direct message over Facebook, Twitter or Instagram,” Burleigh said.
