Stolen dog goes viral on Facebook

DERBY, Conn. (WTNH) -- A dog went missing from a Home Depot Parking Lot and her owner is pulling out all the stops to bring her home. It's been five days since the dog was last seen and that family is hoping maybe you can help find her.

Remember the days of the missing pet signs? Posters pinned to telephone poles and taped inside store windows? Well, one family is learning that times have changed. They reported their dog stolen and her picture quickly made its way onto the internet and into thousands of homes.

If you have a facebook page, there's a good chance you've already seen this post. Bella, a 7-year-old golden lab, has been missing since around 11:30 Monday morning. Her picture has gone viral.

"My daughter has posted her missing on Facebook, and the response from social media has just been incredible. I've been getting phone calls from everybody," said William Novotny.

William Novotny and his wife had parked their car at the Home Depot in Derby. The window was cracked about 4 inches. William believes Bella was dognapped.

"Reached in, unconnected all her collars, and she had a bandana on and took the collars and threw them under the seat and then within ten minutes, she was gone when we came back," said Novotny.

After his daughter posted the picture on Facebook, people quickly started sharing it. On the Stratford Animal Control Page alone, by Friday afternoon almost 200 0 people had shared the post.

Novotny says his wife parked the car  at the back of the parking lot by the sheds. There are surveillance cameras over on the main building, but the problem is when you get to the back of the parking lot, that video gets very fuzzy, so there's no indication as to what might have happened to Bella.

"We do have video of the area and we've looked at seven hours of video and we're trying to ascertain whether we have actual video of the event," said Novotny.

Missing and stolen posters are also pinned up in Derby and Stratford but the family is hopeful that someone on Facebook will help them get their dog back.

"She was sick at the time. We were taking her to the vets and she does need her medication and we never got her to the vet," said Novotny.