A Splendora family is desperately searching for the person who they claim kidnapped their show dog, then returned it days later, gravely injured.
The puppy's owner, Krystle Richardson, says her four-month-old Australian cattle dog, Elvis, was stolen from the family's front yard Tuesday afternoon.
"He didn't slip out," Richardson said. "There's no way for him to get out of my fence. My fence is totally secure all the way around. He was outside in our yard going to the bathroom. They opened up our front gate, let him out and grabbed him."
Richardson insists the chains on her gate were tampered.
"The dog doesn't have hands," she said. "He can't unclip chains. We keep (the fence) chained, top and bottom."
Richardson said she filed a report with the Patton Village Police Department and immediately began searching for Elvis around the neighborhood. She also started a Facebook page dedicated to finding Elvis and bringing him home.
According to Richardson, the puppy was just weeks away from being entered in its first show dog competition in Oklahoma.
After two days of searching, Richardson says Elvis was spotted Thursday morning in her neighbor's yard. He was badly injured.
"(Elvis) showed up dropped over our neighbor's fence," Richardson said. "He couldn't walk. He couldn't move. He was gasping for air. He was in bad shape."
She says she immediately raced the pup to the vet. But it was too late.
"The vet said he had a couple of broken ribs and a collapsed lung," Richardson said. "It was horrible. I got a 3-year-old (child) and I got a 6-year-old. They love him. It's gonna be hard going home tonight and telling them he's not coming back."
She said a necropsy will be performed to determine exactly how the dog received the injuries. Richardson says her family is also offering a reward for anyone who might be able to help them find the person responsible for taking Elvis.
"We would love to know what really happened to him because it would bring a little bit of peace," Richardson said. "Somebody stole him. The gate was closed and locked. Somebody opened up the gate. It hurts when somebody goes and takes something of yours and you get it back and it's pretty much on its last legs."