A Virginia dog breeder was relieved to have one of her South African Mastiffs, worth $10,000, returned to her Friday after he was stolen from her yard.
The 2 1/2-year-old pooch, Adoons, was snatched from Terry Allen's Hanover, Virginia, property last Monday, according to a statement from the Hanover Sheriff's Department. The 175-pound dog was found Friday "uninjured and in good health" roaming city streets by a Richmond Animal Control officer, the statement said.
Allen told NBC News that the experience was "devastating." The breeder knew that Adoons had been stolen because he was behind a latched fence and would "have had to grow a human foot" to get out.
She said she thinks the dog's worth, age and gender likely motivated the thief or thieves. Allen said she paid $10,000 for Adoons, but the loss of an investment was the least of her concerns while he was missing.
"It’s hard thinking what would have happened to him," Allen said. "I don’t even want to leave home thinking that they could come get another one."
The Hanover County Sheriff's Office hasn't named a suspect in the theft, which is still under investigation.
