MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A contractor lost one of his best friends Wednesday when someone stole his sport-utility vehicle.
In broad daylight, someone stole Tim Lansberry's SUV from the Sheetz gas station in Moon. The SUV contained his cell phone, a wallet and a 12-year-old Labrador Retriever, Duke.
Video: Dog, Contractor ReunitedLansberry and his crew went inside the gas station to get some food. One worker returned outside to find the SUV missing.
"He came back in and he said, you know, 'Where'd we park?'" Lansberry said. "I was worried about the dog ... the truck's not too much, I can replace it, but I've had Duke for a long time."
WTAE Channel 4's Shannon Perrine reported that police jumped into action, going high tech to find the SUV. A couple of Moon police officers were at the Sheetz, too.
The officers called the cell phone company to locate the stolen SUV, which authorities in Beaver County found, pulled it over and arrested Michael Anthony Hudak, 23.
There was one thing missing: Duke. The dog without a collar and without tags was at large.
But 10 minutes later, a phone call from a Beaver County resident reached the Humane Society, which called police.
"She had found him running along side the road and she had just called it in, and it turned out to be him," Lansberry said.
Police said they found a crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia with Hudak in the car.
"Who would try to steal a car with a 110-pound dog in it? That was just kind of crazy," Lansberry said. "He's been my shadow for all these years and I don't know what I'd do without him."
Lansberry said, his prayers were answered. In the future, he will put a collar on Duke and he will not leave his keys in his SUV anymore.
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