DeKalb County

Family wants dog back after thieves break into home

By Carl Willis
By Carl Willis

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — UPDATE: Less than 24 hours after posting this story, Maggie was found. Her owners want to thank all the Channel 2 Action News viewers for their help in find Maggie and bringing her home.

ORIGINAL STORY: A DeKalb County family says someone burglarized their home Tuesday. But the thieves also left the home's front door wide open.

Now, the family’s dog Maggie is missing. The family believes she ran off.

"It was wide open when we walked in," Ashley Byrd told Channel 2’s Carl Willis.

The unnerving sight of a pried open door greeted Byrd and her husband Tuesday after burglars broke into her home on Chesterfield Drive and stole TVs, iPads and jewelry.

But most heartbreaking for the family the burglars left the door open and now the family's dog Maggie is missing.

"She's 14. She's never been outside without a leash and a human. And with last night's storms, I can only imagine how scary that would have been for her," Byrd said.

Byrd is expecting a baby boy in a few months but she says the hole that has been left in Maggie's absence is devastating.

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"We're so excited about everything that is to come this year and this puts a damper on that, at least temporarily," Byrd told Willis.

Just a few miles away, over in Tucker, homeowners reported similar break-ins.

"They were in and out in about three minutes," burglary victim Patrick Dots said.

Dots said his camera caught two burglars in the act on Winding Woods Drive less than two miles away on Peppermint Drive, another victim told Willis two people broke in and stole a box of sentimental keepsakes that belonged to her late husband.

Police have not linked the crimes.

"They haven't said anything about a connection yet, but my assumption based on these guys coming in so quickly,” Dots said. "That this isn't the first time they've done that.”

Meanwhile, Byrd is posting flyers around town and offering a reward for Maggie's safe return, in hopes that her family can be complete once her baby boy arrives.

"We don't know if she went willingly out on her own or there were other circumstances,” Byrd told Willis.

“You don't think they stole your dog?” Willis asked Byrd.

“I can't think that way right now. I'd like to think that she's out there hunting for us while people are hunting for her," Byrd said. "We need her back and we would love any help to get her home."

Cox Media Group

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