West Baltimore family says their beloved dog, Bandit, was stolen from their front yard

A West Baltimore family says their 3-year-old Shiba Inu was stolen from their front yard in broad daylight Tuesday.

Arthur Cook, who has owned his home in the Evergreen Lawn neighborhood for 47 years, said his dog, Bandit, was let outside in the gated front yard as usual. When the family checked on the dog at 5:30 p.m., they said, Bandit was gone.

“Let him out like we normally do, and he likes to run in and out all day long,” Cook said. “I knew right away he just didn’t run off. Someone had taken him.”

The front gate to the Harlem Avenue home is secured by a strap to make sure Bandit stays on the property and can’t get out on his own. When they realized the four-legged friend was gone, they also saw that the gate was open.

Bandit’s collar was equipped with an AirTag, so the family began to track his location through West Baltimore.

“We were able to track to about the 2800 block of Baltimore Street,” Cook said. “But never could catch up with the person.”

Cook said the AirTag was ditched in that area in the brush.

Bandit was last seen on security video, walking on a leash with a stranger near Mosher Food Market at the corner of West Baltimore Street and North Franklintown Road.

“I was upset, really upset. Yeah, but at that point, it wasn’t anything I could do,” Cook said.

The family said they’ve found some comfort that he is with someone rather than roaming the streets alone. They hope he’s being treated well.

The family filed a report with the Baltimore Police Department on Thursday. The department told WJZ that it is investigating and no suspects have been arrested.

A dog owner all his life, Cook said nothing like this has ever happened to him. He called Bandit a member of the family and said he is sad that the dog is missing.

“Close to like being a child,” Cook added. “I walk him, and I need to walk, so the two of us walk every day… He loves to play. His favorite thing is a water bottle, so I’ll give him a water bottle, and he’ll wrestle around with it.”

The family is offering a monetary reward if the dog is returned. They hope he comes back home soon.

WJZ is a media partner of The Banner.