An Alabama guy was reunited with his four-legged closest friend after his car was stolen…
Phillip Lewis, a native of Cullman County, was held at gunpoint on August 28 at a Chevron gas station close to Dodge City.
Lewis explained how the trio of robbers, which included a woman, forced him to hand over his keys before escaping in his car during a phone interview with Fox News Digital.
He described the person he interacted with during the event as saying, “I’m not playing,” and pointing the gun at his head. And I gave her the keys at that time.
As the crooks began to scatter, Lewis saw that his five-year-old Shih Tzu-poodle mix, Little Dude, was still in the vehicle.
“Therefore, I yelled, ‘Wait! I’ll grab my dog,’ he exclaimed. “But she departed,”
I feel like there wasn’t much I could have done because she had the upper hand.
Lewis instantly shared the incident on Facebook and begged friends and family to look out for Little Dude.
The animal rescue organizations Two by Two Rescue and Croonin’ for Critters also provided assistance, helping to raise the $2,000 reward for the dog’s safe return…
On September 11, 2022, two weeks after Little Dude’s disappearance, Lewis learnt from an unknown source that a neighbor had recently brought home a dog similar Little Dude.
He said, “I was 99% positive that was my dog.”
After Lewis gave the information to the detectives, the Cullman County and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Departments worked together to locate the puppy and return him to Lewis.
He chuckled, “My first impression was the robber probably liked him and wanted to keep him. He is a really nice dog.
The immense “power of social media” ultimately brought the Alabama-born couple back together, something Lewis stated would not have happened without all the “extra eyeballs” on the case.
Lewis, who was happy to see Little Dude again, said he was “so pleased” to be home at last.
He said, “His tiny tail was just a-waggin’.”
“He noticed my other dog, Jack-Jack, his other adopted brother, and they continued playing together.
Lewis had to save Little Dude when he was a small puppy because the animal had strayed onto his property without any indication that it had ever belonged to anyone else.
He said, “He was in an inferior way. He was completely matted up.
After saving the puppy’s life, Lewis asserted that he and Little Dude had been “best buds ever since.”
“God brought him to me that day,” he allegedly said.
“The moment we met, he stole my heart.”
According to Lewis, who has adult-onset asthma, Little Dude has once saved his life.
He licked him till I was awake enough to phone for help. “There was one evening before I was diagnosed that I hyperventilated and passed out,” he recalled.
Lewis, who is currently enrolled in the mechatronics program at Wallace State Community College, said he plans to “continue on experiencing life” with his “little adventure buddy.”
Lewis expressed his hope that “the detectives can identify the perpetrators and remove them from the street before they do it again.”
