A Cincinnati couple breathed a sigh of relief after their stolen vehicle and cherished dog were recovered following a tense Saturday night ordeal in the Rockwood neighborhood.
Jimmy Hermann and Olivia Molina’s car was taken while their golden-haired dachshund, Dolly, remained inside.
Hermann had left the vehicle running, locked it, and stepped into a local restaurant to pick up a pizza order, according to WLWT.
When they returned and realized both the car and their pet were missing, the couple quickly turned to social media for assistance.
Molina recalled, “Immediately I thought, well, ‘Oakley Hyde Park Moms’ [Facebook group] will be all over this. I had strangers messaging me saying they were driving around the area looking for her, I had people asking me how they could help.”
The couple said neighbors and community members shared photos online of what they believed to be Dolly, while a drone also aided in tracking her movements, Local 12 reported.
After a long night alone in the cold, Dolly was eventually located abandoned in East Walnut Hills.
Law enforcement found the vehicle in East Price Hill. The thieves had removed the license plates and disabled the car’s tracking system.
Authorities noted that even though Hermann had the key fob with him, thieves can sometimes exploit universal keys to access running vehicles, even when locked.
“She won’t be running any errands anytime soon. We’ll probably let her just stay at home and bark at the delivery guys from now on,” Hermann told WLWT, reflecting on the experience.
Molina added that her brother-in-law found Dolly after receiving a tip about her whereabouts.
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“She was shivering due to the freezing temperatures when she was found, with the golden-haired dachshund noticeably dirty and covered in sticks,” the report stated.
The couple credited their neighbors for the successful recovery. “Yeah, thanks to everybody. We can’t thank the community enough,” Hermann said.
In a social media post on Saturday, Molina celebrated Dolly’s return. “While the people who dumped her outside absolutely suck, we are blown away by the kindness of our community. THANNK YOU ALL!!!!” she wrote.
Meanwhile, in Houston, Texas, a woman said her cat sprang into action during a terrifying home invasion in November.
Monsi Pena told KTRK that the ordeal began on November 6 when a man knocked on her apartment door. Police later identified him as 21-year-old Armando Torres.
“He’s selling something: perfumes and creams and makeup. And I tell him, ‘I’m good,’” Pena said. Moments later, a neighbor’s Ring camera captured a man resembling Torres returning to the building alongside another man, Mohamed Robinson, 20.
The first man carried a backpack and wore the same clothing as before, while the second was masked, gloved, and allegedly holding a handgun.
Pena said the men kicked in her door, and her black-and-white cat, Kitty, reacted to protect her. “He tried to defend me,” Pena said.
The feline attempted to climb onto the robbers as Pena watched in shock. “[The robber’s] like ‘Bad boy,’ and I saw [Kitty] going up [on top] of the man. And he’s like, ‘No. Stop it, stop.’ And I’m like, ‘Uhh, Kitty stop him,’” she recalled.
The assailants reportedly struck Kitty with the gun before turning it on Pena, pistol-whipping her while demanding valuables.
Pena said the men warned they would return to kill her if she contacted authorities.
“[He said] ‘I can come back to kill you tonight if you call the police,’ and I’m like, ‘OK, don’t hurt me, don’t kill me,’” she said.
Pena recounted that one of the men attempted to shift blame on the other suspect for the break-in.
“He tried to tell me, ‘I’m innocent,’ you know, like he [didn’t] do [anything]. He tried to tell me, ‘Don’t call the police because it’s the black one who [did] something,’” she said.
The neighbor’s camera captured the pair fleeing, but one man left behind his backpack outside Pena’s apartment.
Investigators later discovered a cell phone inside, registered to Robinson. He was arrested on November 19 for allegedly assaulting his mother and charged with robbery.
Pena recounted that one of the men attempted to shift blame for the break-in while she was en route to call authorities.
“He tried to tell me, ‘I’m innocent,’ you know, like he [didn’t] do [anything]. He tried to tell me, ‘Don’t call the police because it’s the black one who [did] something,’” she said.
Torres was arrested the following Wednesday and charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
Both men remain in the Harris County Jail, with Torres’ bail pending and Robinson held on a $75,000 bond. Court dates are scheduled for Thursday for Torres and January 26 for Robinson.
