Woman Becomes Pet Detective After Dog Disappears

Miami woman tries to track down doggie after pooch goes missing

If your pet has ever gone missing, you know the feeling. Panic, anxiety and desperation sets in as you rush to try to find your beloved animal. That is exactly the feeling Jessica Sierralta had when she found out her dog, Oliver got out of her Miami backyard on December 20th.

"Oliver is an 11 pound yorkie. He's 9 years old and my husband and I are devastated," said Sierralta. "We just want the dog back."

Instead of waiting for help, Sierralta decided to help herself and became an amateur pet detective. She printed out more than a thousand flyers and posted them throughout her neighborhood. She knocked on doors and asked questions.

And then, a few days later, she got a lead from someone at a nearby gas station. Gloria Pando is a regular customer at the Liberty Gas Station located on 22nd Avenue and Coral Way in Miami and she says she remembered seeing Oliver.

"I saw him through the glass door. I saw how little and how beautiful and how desperate he was," she said.

Pando said she saw a taxi driver pick Oliver up and walk him over to a man driving a white BMW. They appeared to exchange cell phone information. And then, Pando said, the man in the BMW drove away, and the taxi driver crossed the street with Oliver under his arm, got in his car and drove away.

"I believe that they stole little Oliver," says Pando. "I feel sorry."

When Sierralta heard about what happened, she immediately asked the gas station clerk if she could review their survelliance camera video in hopes of finding a clue to who these men were.

After looking through an hour worth of video, Sierralta saw the whole scene. She saw the man holding her dog and she saw him talking to the man in the BMW.

"It looked like he was trying to sell him, but I can't be sure," said Sierralta.

Turns out, the taxi driver is also a regular at the gas station. A few days later, he came back. The gas station clerk told him that Sierralta was desperately trying to find him. So, he got her phone number from one of the "missing dog" fliers and called her on Christmas Eve.

"He said he gave Oliver away to a random couple on the street," she said. Sierralta called the police, but they told her they could not prove whether the taxi driver was trying to sell the dog, or whether he was just trying to find the dog a home out of the goodness of his heart.

Now, Sierralta just hopes someone will recognize her dog and come forward. "Oliver is definitely a part of the family...we had him for nine years and my other dog, my second dog, is at home and depressed and sad and missing his best friend."

Oliver was last seen wearing a red bandana around his neck. If you see him, please call Jessica Sierralta at: 786-306-0619. She is offering a $500 reward.

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