CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — In the early hours of Sunday morning, Harlem, a five-month-old Pitbull puppy, ran off after he was pushed out of his family’s car by a man trying to steal it.
This happened at the Wawa on South Military Highway and Yadkin Road.
On Wednesday, after three days on the loose, his family got a call that he was spotted a few blocks away from where he ran off.
Arielle Benfield, who works at IMC Logistics, a trucking company that’s just a couple blocks down the road from the Wawa where Harlem disappeared, described how they were able to find the puppy.
“One of the drivers called and said there was a dog in the yard,” Benfield told 10 On Your Side. “We saw him run into this back corner and that’s when me, Hunter and Bailey kind of veered in and Bailey got him right behind this Chassis here.”
Benfield and her fellow employees heard about the missing Pitbull puppy, and when they saw a dog on the property Wednesday morning, they knew it had to be Harlem.
“He still had the harness and leash, and thank God, because that’s what made it so easy to grab him because he was a quick little guy,” Benfield said.
They immediately called Harlem’s owner, Nahki Davis, who was looking for Harlem at the shelter in Newport News. She jumped in her car and hurried back to Chesapeake.
“He was super happy to see his mom and dad again,” Benfield said. “You could definitely tell.”
It was an emotional reunion after three days lost in the woods in the heat of summer.
“We were shocked that one, we found him and two, that it was him,” Davis said. “He was a little taken aback at first, but once he smelled us, he was jumping for joy. He’s tired. He’s been sleeping like crazy, but other than that he is pretty much the same dog.”
Harlem had more than 100 ticks pulled off of him and had some small cuts and scrapes, but he’s otherwise healthy and happy to be home.
“Everything that everyone has done was a blessing and we are so appreciative of that,” Davis said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Moving forward, Davis plans to microchip Harlem and purchase an Apple AirTag for him. She urges other pet owners do the same if they haven’t already.
Davis said it was thanks to the efforts of the nearby community and 10 On Your Side’s story that helped spread the word to help find Harlem.