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PORTLAND (KPTV) — A Seattle-area woman was reunited with her therapy dog hours after someone stole her purse from a Portland community center locker room, and then subsequently made off her SUV holding her Alaskan Malamute.
Portland police responded to the Mt. Scott Community Center Tuesday evening, but were unable to identify any suspects from the facility’s surveillance cameras.
The dog was found wandering by neighbors about two blocks away from the center. Neighbors posted a picture of the dog on a Facebook group and were later contacted by people who had posted about the missing dog on another social media site.
The dog’s owner, Valerie Bittner, picked up six-year-old “Tana” around 9 p.m., four hours after she went missing.
“I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” Bittner said. “I’m so grateful.”
Bittner said she was in Portland to visit and care for her sick mother and had gone swimming at the Mt. Scott Community Center Friday afternoon. She said she had just finished her swim and was changing her clothing when someone stole her purse from a bench while her back was turned.
Bittner said she went outside a few minutes later to find her SUV and her dog gone.
“I am beside myself with grief,” Bittner said in an interview before the dog was found. “I don’t care about the car. I don’t care about anything that was in my purse. I want Tana back – she’s my service dog – she is my daughter.”
David Erickson said the dog ended up on his property.
“I was just lighting up some charcoal to smoke some meat and right around the corner here – a big dog – very large dog comes up to me and I basically didn’t run, and she was very friendly,” Erickson said.
Bittner had offered up a $10,000 reward for anyone who helped find her dog.
Bittner said she plans to split the money between the neighbors who helped reunite her.
“To think that there’s a reward, we just did it because we love animals. I have a dog at my house, he has a cat at his,” said neighbor Emily Robb, pointing at Erickson. “We would just do it anyways.”
Robb posted the photo of Tana on social media.
Bittner now hopes police will help her find her stolen SUV.
Officers said its silver, 2004 Mercedes Benz ML350 with Washington license plate BMA4894.
Bittner said the thief also got away with her credit cards and cell phone.
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