Surveillance video shows emotional support dog taken in front of house

Winter Garden family pleads for dog's return

WINTER GARDEN, Fla.UPDATE: Puplo was found safe on Nov. 25 and reunited with Grace. Read the original story below.

For one family in Orange County, this Thanksgiving has turned into a nightmare after their dog, Puplo, was taken by someone in a van in front of their home in the Fullers Crossing neighborhood.

Cheryl Bellhouse got Puplo, a 2-year-old teacup Chihuahua, for her daughter, 7-year-old Grace, after a doctor recommended she get an emotional support animal to help with Grace's anxiety. 

Surveillance video shows the dog walking up to a van in front of their home Wednesday afternoon around 2 p.m. 

"We can't see who is in the van, but we literally see our dog run up to the driver side, and a few minutes later they're gone," Bellhouse said. 

Bellhouse said Puplo dug a hole under their fence and escaped their backyard before wandering into a neighbor's front yard, where he was taken. 

Puplo is not microchipped and wasn't wearing his collar or his harness. 

"Because he had had a bath, and we hadn't put it back on," Bellhouse said. "He's irreplaceable." 

Bellhouse said Winter Garden police are investigating. In the meantime, the family is hoping someone recognizes the van in their surveillance video, or that this ends up being a big misunderstanding.  

"We're truly hoping this was a concerned person came up, saw this little tiny dog in the road, picked him up and we're really truly hoping they're out looking for us," she said. 

Missing dog signs are now plastered all over the neighborhood and the owners hope whoever took Puplo, whether ill intentioned or not, returns him to his family. 

If you have any information about Puplo's whereabouts, you're asked to contact Winter Garden police or call 407-509-4428. 


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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