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Social Media Army And CCTV Help Reunite Stolen Dog With Family

| Published on October 11, 2019

Blake is a 6 year old male Shih Tau Bichon mix who lives with the utter adoration and love of his family in Glasgow, Scotland. Dog mama Kirsteen Marshall and her daughter Tess have shared their home, bed, time, and hearts with Blake since he was a tiny pup.

Recently, Blake accompanied his mom to a shop in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. While she was inside, Blake was stolen. What unfolded over the next 48 hours is a testament to what can be accomplished when the police, community members, and social media comes through in full force.

Kirsteen told the thief on Facebook,”Wrong dog, wrong community, wrong city. We did this the old school way and it worked.”

As soon as Kirsteen could, she turned to social media imploring that everyone help spread the word. Her beloved dog was stolen, and she needed a social media army to help. Over 5k people answered the call, sharing Kirsteen’s post.

Image Screenshot ET News YouTube

Blake’s Army was launched.

At the 12-hour mark, Kirsteen posted a video of Blake and Kirsteen’s daughter playing a high-five game. In the post she said that Tess was absolutely broken without Blake. She offered a £5,000 (approx. $6,325USD) reward for his safe return.

Kirsteen started by hitting the street where Blake had gone missing, asking shops to share their CCTV footage. She was working closely with the police, knocking on doors and asking questions. As she put it, she was doing this “old school.” She also posted an appeal directly to the thief, telling him she did not wish to prosecute, she just wanted Blake home.

The following day, the big break in the case happened. They managed to obtain CCTV footage of the thief carrying Blake away from the scene. Of course, Kirsteen posted still photos and the full video footage of the thief walking away carrying little Blake in his arms. The photo of the thief and Blake was shared 10k times. The footage was also published in a story by the Daily Record UK.

Blake’s Army was in full effect!

The investigation continued and got another big breakthrough. Kirsteen said on Facebook that she could confirm that “the thief walked right passed my own home with Blake in his arms and passed the high flats that sit on Caledonia Rd, Gorbals. He may have then got on a number 7 bus heading to Govanhill and Possil (still awaiting CCTV from bus).” The search was narrowing and it seems, the thief was losing his nerve as police closed in. She told BBC News,

“We spent a lot of time out in the street speaking to people and asking for CCTV. Every message we got meant that we were pointed in a certain direction and we could eliminate other things. We pieced the puzzle together and knew he was in Possil and we were closing in. Then out of the blue, I got a message saying: ‘I have your dog’.”

At 2 AM, police recovered Blake from a house in Possil. And the family could not have been happier to be reunited.

Image Screenshot ET News YouTube

When a community comes together, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished! We are so relieved that Blake was returned home. It’s not yet clear if any charges will be filed.

Featured Image Kirsteen Marshall Facebook 

 

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