The federal police caught a dog thief in Berlin – and rescued the stolen dog Rosemarie. On Friday afternoon, the dog owner reported to the federal police at Ostbahnhof. She had leashed her dog in the basement of the train station next to the escalator in front of a supermarket.
The federal police headquarters in Berlin then reported on Twitter: Witness wanted. A stranger had stolen the four-legged friend. The officials also posted a photo: The black bitch has a conspicuous white front paw.
On Saturday afternoon, the federal police were able to report a first investigation success. An evaluation of the footage from a surveillance camera showed that the thief dragged the animal with him and left the station through the main exit.
The federal police also provided a personal description of the thief. The thief wore a white and black checkered hat, a dark jacket, a red sweater, light-colored shorts and light-colored sneakers.
The search was already successful on Saturday around 8 p.m.: According to the information, federal police officers recognized the thief at the Ostbahnhof. He was already noticed by property and brutality crimes.
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And the dog was “back home in Friedrichshain,” the authorities reported. A Twitter user posted another photo – apparently taken by the owner – of the dog snuggled up in a blanket. Rosemarie the dog is back. A spokesman for the federal police said the dog was found in Erkner. How he got back to his owner was still unclear on Sunday.
On the Instagram photo, the owner explained: “Nice people found them.” She assumes that the thief let go of the dog or Rosemarie broke free. The bitch no longer had a collar or leash. “No words can describe how happy we are to have her back home,” said the owner.
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But there was also criticism from users. They warned that dogs should not be leashed in front of shops. Unfortunately, it happens far too often that dogs are “pulled away” as a result. The best-known case in Berlin is the Jack Russell Terrier Oskar. On September 9th, a boy stole the dog in front of a drugstore in Pankow and released it again in Kreuzberg. Through social media, the search for Oskar quickly became known in Berlin and beyond.
The owner’s mother had taken the dog to go shopping and put it on a leash in front of a drugstore in Pankow. “It was only four minutes. When she came out of the store, Oskar was gone,” reported Friederike Brandts.
In order to make it easier for the dog to find its way home, the owner had, among other things, left scent trails. Among other things, she pulled a t-shirt from herself along a band on the floor in certain ways so that the dog could pick up the smell and follow it. A sniffer dog was also used several times.
