Military family seeks help bringing their beloved dog home

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a bizarre situation — a military family’s dog got loose, and an employee at a local car dealership said they had it. But now, the dog is nowhere to be found, and the dealership is offering $1,000 to solve the case.

“It’s been awful, and it’s very frustrating, it’s heartbreaking,” said Christy Loretto.

Loretto is on a mission to find her brother’s dog Taz.

“This is Versace, his partner,” she said, while looking at pictures of the two dogs on her phone.

Loretto’s brother in in the U.S. Army and is stationed out-of-state, so family cares for his two dogs. They both escaped from her father’s house off Lomas two weekends ago.

“The animal shelter had one of them, but we couldn’t find the other,” said Loretto.

The family said they then got a call from an employee at Garcia Honda on Lomas, saying they had Taz.

“A lady called him from the dealership saying that they had found the dog and that one of their employees was going to take it to the shelter,” she said.

However, Taz, who is micro-chipped, wasn’t at any local shelters.

“Then my dad went into the dealership a couple times to talk to them, the management was very nice,” said Loretto.

She said they were told an employee had given the dog to a rescue dog owner. Garcia Honda was told this woman posted she she had the dog on social media, but KRQE News 13 couldn’t find any post, and the family just wants Taz.

“The guy themself who they say had the dog was giving my dad a hard time,” said Loretto.

The owner of Garcia Honda replied to the Loretto’s on Facebook, saying they’re conducting an internal investigation and are working with police to bring Taz home.

Loretto said she thinks someone out there has the dog, and she’s making a plea to whoever that is.

“I just hope whoever does have him, is treating him well,” she said. “There are tons of dogs that need families, please give us ours back and we’ll help you find another one.”

The Garcia dealership has even offered a $1,000, no-questions-asked reward for information leading to the safe return of Taz to his family.

Loretto said they have not yet had any updates from police on the investigation.Read Garcia Honda’s Facebook statement >>