Burlington girl reunited with pet after dog-napping

A Burlington girl has been reunited with her dog Jackson after a man snatched the Shih Tzu away from her during a walk on Monday night.

“I feel really happy and he is too,” 14-year-old Idah Clementino said Wednesday morning while cuddling her dog.

Clementino was walking Jackson on Monday evening when a man approached her in an Esso parking lot and told her he thought the pooch was cute and that he wanted to pet it.

“I wasn’t feeling very comfortable with him being around Jackson and touching him,” the teen said. “He didn’t look very nice when he was holding Jackson.”

When Clementino tried to walk away the man tried to pet the dog, then removed it from its leash and took off, claiming it was his pet that he’d lost three years ago.

“It was pretty scary,” she said.

The man drove off with the dog. The girl’s family posted a $250 reward for the pet’s safe return.

A tip from the Burlington Humane Society led police to Jackson and a 32-year-old suspect, who was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on theft charges.

The teen’s mom, Jane Clementino, said she’s happy about having the family pet back and about how her daughter handled the situation.

“We’re really happy and very proud of her for the decisions that she made,” she said Wednesday morning.

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