Emotional support dog stolen in Oakland from disabled man's car

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OAKLAND, Calif. - A 7-year-old Pomeranian-Shetland sheepdog mix named Cocoa was stolen from a car parked in Oakland, a terribly upsetting ordeal for the owner, who is a disabled man in a wheelchair.

Ralph Margado provided surveillance video at Broadway and Piedmont Avenue to show someone reaching into his dad's car parked on the street outside of the Honda dealership Tuesday about 2:30 p.m. 

"My father is handicapped in a wheelchair and just distraught over the entire scene because it was his dog," Margado said. 

Leonard Margado, 74, has been circling the block where the theft occurred, handing out fliers and showing passersby pictures of his dog Cocoa.

"Please, I don't care who you are. Bring my dog back," he said. "That's my life. That's my family. I have him and my son. I need my dog. He's my support."

Margado, a retired machinist, says one person he spoke to on his rounds upset him with his comments.

"He was saying, ‘Well, you know if you wouldn’t have left the dog in the car, you should have made other arrangements,' and that wasn't right," he said. "How about a little empathy?"

He said he had a 9 a.m. doctor's appointment that day. It got bumped to 11 a.m, and he and his son didn't have enough money to continue parking in a garage. So Ralph Margado moved their Acura to a spot on Broadway. 

"I wish I never would have done that, because when we parked out here on the street, that was all it took," Ralph Margado said. "They looked in, saw Cocoa, grabbed him and took off." 

WATCH: Surveillance video of the dognapping

Father and son are hoping someone will come forward with information. They're offering a reward for Cocoa's return, no questions asked.

For now, they're not giving up on their search.

"We are going to find this dog," Ralph Margado said.

Ralph Margado can be reached at ralphmargado@gmail.com. 

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