HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) – A Hialeah family has finally reunited with their beloved dog after a private investigator and neighborhood banded together.
But getting Chloe, the 1-year-old French bulldog, back was a mission.
7News reported on Friday that Chloe was stolen after she ran off when a pool cleaner left the gate open.
“In a matter of seconds, the door opens, she went out,” said her owner, Grethel Beaton. “She means the world to me, she is 1 year and four months, she is our baby, she’s the baby of the house.”
In a video tracked down by a private investigator, the dog is seen running into the street. A person driving a white van picks the dog up. But, in a rush to get to work, the driver hands the dog off to another woman.
“That person gave the dog to someone else who was walking by,” said Beaton.
Determined to find Chloe, the family posted flyers and even offered a $2,000 reward for her return.
“She has more value for us than to anybody else. The $2,000 could buy any dog, but it’s not about the money,” said Gerardo Machado.
Along with the private investigator, they had the whole neighborhood’s help searching for Chloe.
“Mr. Machado came to me and said, ‘Look, I really need my dog. It’s my family member, I need to – my kids are crying. Do something,’” said Chase Lalani, the private investigator.
Machado said Lalani managed to identify the van and the driver, which helped identify the woman who took the dog and subsequently convinced her to return the dog.
Lalani also discovered that the woman who had Chloe changed her name and re-microchipped the dog with her information.
“It was five long days, from the day she went missing until the day we recovered her,” said Beaton.
“It was really a community effort,” said Machado. “A lot of people opened up their doors to show videos and that the detective, I think, without them was pretty much impossible to get her here.”
Machado said his daughter called him her hero once Chloe was found, which melted his heart.
“He’s my hero,” said Alexandria Machado.
The father said it was the best accomplishment out of this whole ordeal trying to find Chloe.
Now Chloe wears an Apple AirTag and has been re-microchipped with Beaton’s information so she won’t get lost again.
She is back running around with her family, and they couldn’t be happier to have her back.
“What did it feel when you saw her for the first time after five days,” Beaton asked Alexandria.
“Excited and happy,” said Alexandria.
The family made good on their reward, giving it to the driver of the white van who helped identify the woman to whom she gave Chloe.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.