A woman recognised her ‘stolen’ dog – who had his coat dyed – because it only had one testicle.
Pet Shih-Tzu, Theo, disappeared on 19 January.
His owner started putting up missing pet posters all over town in a bid to get him back.
But last Wednesday (14 Feb), a family friend spotted a new Shih-Tzu in a front yard in the neighbourhood.
But unlike Theo, whose coat was white, this Shih-tzu was dark brown.
The woman went up to the gate, shouted out “Theo”, and the pooch ran towards her.
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She called Theo’s owner, who lives just a block away, to the property in Pinhalzinho, north of São Paulo, Brazil.
The pooch became over-excited when he saw her.
Theo’s owner noticed that the dark-brown Shih-Tzu had a scar on its back and a single testicle, just like her missing pet.
She confronted the dog’s new owner, who gave her two different versions of events.
To begin with, she claimed she’d bought the pet.
But moments later, she said she’d actually been given it as a gift.
She’s now under investigation for animal mistreatment and misappropriation.
Police chief, Lucas Almeida said Theo’s coat had been coloured with hair dye so locals “wouldn’t realise it was the stolen dog”.
He said: “Even if theft isn’t proven, there’s the matter of appropriating found property and the issue of mistreatment due to concealment, given the colour change, which could lead to skin problems for him.”
Mr Almeida said there’d been an increase in thefts in Pinhalzinho – population 22,000 – in recent days.
He added that the police were working to identify the suspects.
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