In Peterborough, special-needs boy’s stolen dog is returned

Four-year-old Lukas has his dog back.

Bailey, a 3-year-old chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, was stolen from outside a Peterborough No Frills last Thursday morning.

Lukas, a special-needs child, was devastated to lose the dog. Bailey was a gift from his grandparents after Lukas' father, Alex Florent, was killed in a car accident two weeks before Christmas 2010.

"Bailey was pretty much the only thing that made Lukas happy" following the death of his father, Leslie Smith, Lukas' mother, said.

The Peterborough Examiner covered the stolen-dog story last week. Soon after, generous offers to both pay the reward money and purchase a new dog poured in.

This Tuesday, the Peterborough Humane Society received an anonymous calls saying the missing dog was tied to a tree near the society's offices.

"They called and said they thought they had Bailey and I pretty much said, 'We'll be right there,'" Smith told the Peterborough Examiner.

"We can't thank everyone enough for helping Lukas get his dog back," Smith said. "We're so happy to have him back. We are complete once again. Lukas doesn't know what to think about it other than puppy was gone and now puppy is back."

"Whoever brought Bailey to the humane society, thank you for helping," she added.