Eyewitness News viewer helps return carjacked poodle back home
BROOKLYN (WABC) -- There was a happy and tearful reunion between a 73-year-old woman in Brooklyn and her stolen service dog.
Luna the 9-year-old poodle was in the back seat of her owner's car last week when she was carjacked.
Authorities say the suspect pulled the victim out of her Honda Civic last Sunday just after 1 p.m. near Mill Avenue and Mayfair Drive.
Disturbing surveillance video showed the man pulling the victim from the car as she put up the fight of her life.
But he drove off with the poodle inside -- and nearly ran her over in the process.
"He grabbed me by my leg and pulled me down to the ground, I hit my head," said the victim, who did not want to be identified.
The car was found a few days later in Williamsburg, but Luna's owner was still desperate to find her dog.
After nearly missing a week, an Eyewitness News viewer who was walking his own dogs spotted Luna walking with a man.
That viewer later recognized the dog during a report on Eyewitness News.
The next day, the good Samaritan confronted the man at Utica Avenue and Linden Boulevard and grabbed Luna's leash.
The man took off and got away. It is not yet clear if he is the same man responsible for the carjacking.
After she was rescued, Luna was was returned home -- an answer to many prayers.
"She loves this dog with all her heart, just as one of her other kids or grandkids, if not more," the victim's granddaughter Isabella Pavon said. "This dog brings her so much happiness and means the world to her."
Now that Luna is home safe and sound, police are still looking for the man who took her and the car.
"I was extremely angry, but at the same time I pushed those emotions to the side and my natural instinct was just to help find this dog right away, I know how much this dog means to my grandmother," Pavon said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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