Dog stolen from car in Wawa parking lot in Philadelphia reunited with family

PHILADELPHIA — Theo is home again after an 18-day odyssey.

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The 2-year-old rescue dog, a boxer-Golden Retriever mix, went missing last month after Natalie Ciervo and Matt Berk said he was stolen from their car at a Wawa parking lot in Philadelphia, WTXF-TV reported.

The couple, who live in the Fishtown neighborhood of the city, had stopped at a Wawa in the Port Richmond area on Nov. 15 when the dog went missing, according to the television station.

It was about 7:30 p.m. and the couple went inside the store, leaving Theo and Frankie -- a beagle -- in their vehicle, WCAU-TV reported.

“We ordered sandwiches and we were coming out the door right here,” Berk told the television station. “Someone said there’s a beagle there and she ran out thinking it was Frankie, our beagle. I ran to the car around the corner here and saw the backdoor was open.”

Frankie was still in the vehicle but Theo was gone.

After nearly three weeks of searching and passing out flyers, Ciervo and Berk were reunited with Theo.

“I will post an update soon with the story of how we were finally able to get him home,” the couple wrote on Instagram. “We are so thankful for all of you.”

On Facebook, Ciervo shared a Facebook post on Sunday by Glenn Orwan III, the administrator of the Southern NJ Humane Tracking & Trapping recovery group. Orwan did not release specifics but thanked several groups of people.

“Everyone went above and beyond to make it happen!” Orwan wrote.

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