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Nashua Woman Reunited With Dog Stolen From Car

NASHUA, NH (CBS) - "I am relieved and so happy," said Lily Martinez, hugging her 11-year-old Shih Tzu pug. Two days earlier she had reported the dog stolen to police, and had been plastering her hometown of Nashua with "lost dog" posters.

Lily Martinez
Lily Martinez and Nikko (WBZ-TV)

"He's so friendly to everybody," she said, which may have made him an easy target for a thief. She was at Walgreens on Main St. Sunday when she left Nikko in her car for a quick errand. The problem was that she left the car unlocked and running with the air conditioning. "You don't think that somebody's going to steal him." When she returned, Nikko was gone.

Nashua Police put out a surveillance picture of a man they're still looking for in connection with the case, but two nights passed without Nikko. "I didn't know what to do. I had a knot in my stomach cause I thought for one moment, I thought I wasn't going to see him again," said Martinez.

Dog stolen
Man wanted for questioning after dog was stolen in Nashua, NH (WBZ-TV)

Then she got a social media tip with a name and address in Methuen. She went, all by herself. She found a home with no sign of the man in that police photo, but a woman handed over the dog. "When I put him in the car, he was shaking all over."

By Tuesday night, Nikko was back to himself, doing tricks on command, and jumping on her lap. "He thinks he's a baby," she said. She also said she'll never leave him in her car again.

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