SLO woman is on mission to find her dog after car was stolen with the pup inside
A 19-year-old San Luis Obispo woman’s car was stolen with her dog inside on Friday — and now the animal is apparently missing in Monterey County.
But police there believe they’ve spotted the pup, which darted off when they approached her and is still on the loose, she said.
Katrina Conley, the woman whose dog and car were stolen, was on her way to Monterey County Tuesday to retrieve her vehicle and search for her pet.
“We have an idea of where she is, but she’s still missing,” Conley said.
Conley said she left her 2-year-old Australian cattle dog, Kaia, in her vehicle for about five minutes at around 7 p.m. on Friday at the Smart and Final on Johnson Avenue.
Conley locked the vehicle from outside and left the engine running to keep her dog cool with the air conditioning on and the window slightly down, Conley said.
Conley said that when she returned to the parking lot, her 2003 C230 Mercedes Kompressor was gone.
“When I went out, I looked around and didn’t see my car,” Conley said. “I was pretty nervous because I also didn’t see my dog.”
SLO police confirmed the car was stolen and arrested a suspect, saying on Facebook that “the vehicle was recovered the following day in Marina, CA, but the pup Kaia was not in the car.”
“The suspect was not cooperative with Marina PD about the location of the dog,” SLOPD officials said. “If you have seen Kaia or may know where she might be, please contact us at 805-781-7312.”
Marina police said they got a call about a suspicious woman in the Walmart parking lot there on Sunday morning and arrested her and recovered Conley’s car, Marina police Sgt. Brian Whittaker said.
The suspect, Mercedes Ruiz, 21, was arrested on suspicion of driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest and stolen vehicle charges, Whittaker said.
SLOPD Operations Capt. Brian Amoroso said that Ruiz’s listed residence is in Castroville.
Conley said Monterey police believe they spotted her dog at the intersection of Casa Verde Way and Fremont Street in an area with several businesses, but also near some open spaces with recreational areas nearby. The dog, which is skittish, scampered off when they approached it, Conley said.
Conley said she learned the woman ran out of gas near Cal Poly on Friday night about 10:30 p.m. and seemed to need help when approached by an officer. The dog was in the car with the woman at the time, but the officer was unaware the vehicle was stolen, Conley said.
Conley said that Marina police found dog poop in the back seat of the car in the town located about 10 miles north of Monterey.
A car tire was blown out when it was found, but the car is otherwise in working order, Conley said Marina police informed her.
Conley said she posted a request for donations on Facebook and raised enough money to cover the cost for a friend to give her a ride to Monterey County to retrieve her car and look for her dog.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 10:01 AM.
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