Stolen dogs reunited with owners thanks to social media, aware residents

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - A Bay Area dog owner’s desperate attempt to find three stolen pets has a happy ending. And the reuniting was almost as frantic as the ill-fated events preceding it.

Tuesday afternoon in San Leandro, Roxane Moaveni got the treat she was searching for.

"You guys have no idea how much I appreciate this," she said, sobbing, as she held Phoebe.

This tale begins Monday afternoon. Moaveni, the owner of the dog-walking service The Balanced K9 in the East Bay, left two of her pets, and a client’s dog in her unlocked Toyota Tacoma to run inside another client’s home in the 500 block of Brann Street in Oakland.

"As I’m leaving the house to go back to my car I see somebody jump in my car and drive off with it," said Moaveni. "It was just my worst nightmare."

Louise, Barci, and Phoebe disappeared with the pick-up truck. The camper shell of the vehicle was discovered Tuesday.

Louise, and Barci – who was a client’s dog -- were found by a man near the Oakland Zoo. The search for Phoebe intensified, with clothing left behind as a scent trail.

"She’s very skittish. So if anybody happens to see her, I urge them to contact me," Moaveni said.

RELATED: Stockton woman reunited with Yorkshire terrier stolen in San Francisco

Phoebe was found Tuesday at a Shell gas station near the Nimitz Freeway (I-880) in the Fruitvale District in Oakland, around the same time the other dogs were found. The young woman who made the discovery, took the pet back to her mother’s house in San Leandro. But they weren’t able to make contact with Roxane until nearly 24 hours later.

"I had lost a dog a while a go for two weeks. And I had got him back, so I know what it’s like. It’s like losing one of your kids," said Kelly, the Good Samaritan who wanted her last name withheld.

The Tacoma truck is still gone, and Roxane is dealing with a string of fraudulent credit card charges. But, the two most important things are once again, back in her life.