The woman suffers from mobility health issues and depended on her four-legged companion to help her.
The dognappers were caught on a surveillance camera snagging the 100-pound German shepherd. The stolen dog named Jack belongs to Lisa Hartouni who is disabled. She was training Jack to be her service animal.
"It's actually really devastating. I just totally miss him he was so much a part of my life. He was picking stuff up for me from the floor. He would actually sometimes give me a hand getting up," Hartouni said.
According to Hartouni, about two weeks before Jack was stolen, an unknown man stopped her and Jack while they were out for a walk. The man told Hartouni that was his friend's dog.
"I said no. I have had him since he was 2 months old. The guy insisted that it was his friend's dog," Hartouni said. "From that point on, I felt I was being watched."
Hartouni said the dognapping happened in 10 minutes. After taking Jack for his daily-afternoon stroll, Jack was left to play on the fenced-front lawn and Hartouni went inside to grab him some treats. That's when the dog nappers came up the driveway, opened the gate and snagged the dog.
"It is hard to comprehend that someone is that gutsy," Hartouni said. "I want the dog back."
Community members have created a Gofundme page to raise reward money for the person who returns Jack safely. The Long Beach Police Department is looking at surveillance footage from around the area and talking to neighbors.
"You need to return the dog," Hartouni said. "You can take him to a pound, he is chipped. You can take him to a pet store. You can take him to anywhere that can read chips."
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