Originally Posted by Little Bit (Post 1989271)

I'll bet if you contacted the news station that reported this they would get in touch with them for you if you are serious.

Originally Posted by I Love Bailey (Post 1994594)

Here is an updated article:
Missing dog's owner, 8, has a luckier day

By Joe Stevens, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/16/2008 11:32:26 PM PDT


http://extras.mnginteractive.com/liv...C2SHU4_300.JPG Nathan Pereira, 8, greets his new dog Lucky. It was donated after a thief stole the family terrier, Joci, from Nathan on Mother's Day. (Scott Smeltzer/Staff photographer)




LONG BEACH - Nathan Pereira unleashed a huge smile when he arrived home from school to see his new dog, Lucky.
The 8-year-old held Lucky, caressed him and exclaimed: "His tail feels like cotton!"
Shortly after that, Nathan said: "I miss Joci."
While the Pereiras received a terrier mix as a gift on Friday, the family still was without its original pooch - Joci the Yorkshire terrier.
Long Beach police continued their doghunt, taking Nathan on a ride for him to show his path when he chased after the dognapper. Nathan says the suspect is easy to spot because of a distinctive tattoo of a bird on his neck.
"I'm happy because I think we could get Joci back," Nathan said. "I hope Lucky doesn't bark at him. I hope the guy gets caught, so he doesn't do this again."
Police have been tight-lipped in giving information about their dogged investigation. Hope to use the microchip embedded in Joci as a homing device is gone, though. The type of chip he has can only be scanned and not located like a doggie LoJack.
Regardless, the family says there are leads because a witness has stepped forward, saying he saw Joci snatched from Nathan. Also, the boy's father, Angel Pereira, says he saw the suspect walk past his home earlier this week. Pereira, a longshoreman, then played the role of detective by staying on the guy's trail until he entered a home at 23rd Street and Myrtle Avenue. Through Pereira's detective work, talking
around his neighborhood, he says the guy is likely either a member of the Insane Crips or Youth Foundation Crips.
The suspect the Pereiras describe is a black male about 19 years of age, 6 feet tall and thin with a tattoo of a bird on the left side of his neck.
The dognapping happened at about 2:30 p.m. on Mother's Day. Nathan was walking the dog and was pushed to the ground by the thief. After a brief chase, he returned home crying, and since then, a lot of crying has gone on at the Pereira residence.
There has also been an outpouring of support from readers, including some who want to donate money to the Pereiras. Two people - Charles Humphrey of Compton and Milissa Martinez-Petriello of Long Beach - offered to give them dogs that are both named "Lucky."
Even though Humphrey's Lucky is a Yorkie, the Pereiras accepted Martinez-Petriello's Lucky because she had had the dog for only a week and was not allowed to keep him in her apartment. Both Humphrey and Martinez-Petriello said they were outraged after reading a story in the Press-Telegram.
"What kind of animal would push a kid over and take his dog?" Martinez-Petriello asked. "It's not even human. This is what the world is coming to? It struck a chord with me. You just don't do something like that."
The incident left Nathan's mother, Annette Pereira, questioning whether to move back to Apple Valley, from where the family moved in September.
Annette is appreciative to those who have contacted her and offered support. An anonymous businessman offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. With Martinez-Petriello, she is especially thankful because she brought smiles to her family because of Lucky.
"I'm grateful, but the pain's still there," Annette said. "I'm a giver, and you can ask me for anything, and I'd try to give it to you. If this guy came to me and said, `Hey, I want your dog,' I would have helped him get one himself." joe.stevens@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1281