SOUTH LOOP — A minivan that was packed with dogs from a doggie day care when it was carjacked by armed men has been found in the South Loop — and the dogs appear to be safe, police said.
Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman, said around 11:35 a.m. Thursday that the van, owned by Urban Out Sitters, was found in the 2100 block of South Wabash Avenue.
"It appears the dogs are fine, nobody is in custody and an investigation is continuing," Pacheco said. Police said they were looking at video footage to see if they could identify the culprits.
Daisy Bowers, owner of Ultimate Hair Design across the street from where dogs were found, said she got to work around 8:30 a.m. Thursday and noticed the van across the street.
"After about an hour I noticed there was a dog in the front street sticking his head up as if to say 'Help me,'" Bowers said.
"When I saw the little head I said, 'Mmm ... there's someone in the van.' I thought it was a child at first."
One of her employees who had heard about the missing dogs told Bowers to call police.
"I called 911 and they were here in like 15 minutes," she said.
When officers arrived, they found the van that had been stolen Thursday and all seven dogs inside. They appeared to be in good health, but they need to be medically evaluated, police said.
Rob Sayre, a 40-year-old Bucktown resident whose dog, Jadyn, was among the dogs in the van, was emotional at the reunion.
"Torture. Worst experience of my life," he said of the ordeal. "It's all better now. I'm just going to get her home, take her to a vet and get her checked out, get her warm and fed and take care of her."
Heather Ballard and Tad Tomita have used Urban Out Sitters to take care of their 3-year-old miniature schnauzer Mochi for about a year and a half.
Wednesday night, after hearing the news the van had been stolen, they canvassed neighborhoods searching for it.
They first heard rumors the van had been found from Tomita’s aunt in Utah, who had seen something on Facebook. Then they got a phone call from a reporter notifying them the dogs had been found.
“We were cautiously optimistic,” Tomita said. “We had heard a couple of other reports that they had found the van earlier, so we didn’t want to get our hopes up.”
They found Mochi in the arms of a police officer.
“She was so happy. It was all ear kisses and face kisses. She was very happy,” Tomita said.
The couple’s reaction: “Just sheer joy,” he said.
Ballard was thankful the dogs’ plight elicited such a strong reaction on social media.
“We just want to thank everyone,” she said. “Putting this out there on social media in various ways helped it become an issue with the police…somehow it ended up working out. We’re really thankful for lots of people.”
Officials with Urban Out Sitters, the day care that owns the van and was caring for the dogs, said they are on their way to 21st and Wabash in the South Loop.
Bowers said she's just glad the dogs are safe "and hopefully not traumatized by this.
"I just knew It was too cold out there for anything alive to be out there without any attention," she said. "I knew somebody was missing their pet, or 'child' as I would say."
The drama began Wednesday when two gunmen stuck up the packed minivan when it was stopped at a red light, carjacking the van and making off with the seven dogs who had been en route back to their owners.
"Who wants a van full of dogs? I think their intention was to take the van, not the dogs," said Joseph Giannini, owner of Urban Out Sitters.
Alisa Hauser discusses the upsetting theft:
It happened at 3:50 p.m. Wednesday in 800 block of West Superior Street, according to Officer Veejay Zala, a Chicago Police spokesman.
Zala said two armed men stole a running silver van containing six dogs. A man who saw the dognapping tried to stop it but one of the gunman pointed a gun at him and fled, Zala said.
The van is a silver 2002 Town & Country with a license plate "R188669," according to Giannini, whose business is at 3241 N. Dayton St. in Lakeview.
Giannini said one of his employees, the driver, was sitting at a stoplight when he was approached by two men who put a gun to the window and told him to get out.
"The guys jumped into the car and sped off," Giannini said.
Giannini described the mood among the six dog owners Wednesday night as "distraught."
"Nobody is placing blame; there is nothing you can do when someone approaches you with a gun. Everyone is very emotional and wants a resolution to this situation," Giannini said.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and no one was in custody.
CONTRIBUTING: Alex Parker
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