CLEVELAND (WJW) -- A Cleveland family's dog was stolen from a car Saturday afternoon, and the entire kidnapping was caught on camera.
Now, 4-year-old Selena Hassan of Brook Park is heartbroken over the theft of her dog Lucy, a Shitzu-Yorkie mix.
“Because I love her; she is my best girl,” Selena told WJW.
Her mother, Alaina Yantko, didn't notice the thief at first.
“I pulled into Ohio City Deli to take something into my husband. I noticed there were only two cars in the parking lot and one of them was his,” she said.
“I was just trying to get the kids in the store and I was going to come back out to get my purse and something else I had brought for my husband,” she recalled.
As soon as she enters the store, a suspect in another car gets out, opens her passenger door and steals her purse and cellphone.
Then, he goes back in for the dog.
“I came out and he threw her in the car and when I grabbed the mirror, he just looked right at me and kept on going,” said Yantko.
She was able to give police a license plate number.
Related: Man reunited with beloved schnauzer after carjacking over Thanksgiving holiday
However, she says police told her the car was reported stolen.
“To watch him watching me was the worst part because I didn’t notice him. Then, he pulled up and backed up to watch me go through my car and unbuckle a baby,” said Yantko.
Thankfully, no one was hurt.
However, Yantko is anxious about the whereabouts of Lucy.
“The phone, the money, the purse - none of it matters. We just want our dog back,” she said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Cleveland Police.
