FOX Carolina 21Piedmont woman says dog was dragged from kennel, stolen

A Piedmont woman said someone stole her 3-year-old pit bull from his kennel last month.

Clara Bair told FOX Carolina that she first noticed her dog, named Mission, was missing about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. She said she arrived home after running some errands to find Mission's pen was propped up.

Bair said she first tried to figure out how Mission escaped from the enclosure, but quickly realized someone had taken him.

"There's claw marks on the concrete like chalk," Bair said.

Bair said someone dragged Mission from underneath the metal kennel after they propped it up.

A neighbor said she saw two men and a woman work to steal the dog, Bair said. She said the neighbor described the men as white, wearing ball caps, and with less than an inch of facial hair. She said the woman was described as white with wavy, dirty-blond hair, and carrying another pit bull.

Bair said the neighbor saw the woman walk up to her house, knock on the door and then signal the men to steal the dog once she realized no one was home. She said the neighbor saw one of the men grab Mission and throw him in the back of an emerald green, 90's-model Jeep Cherokee and drive away.

"I'm hoping they took him to breed, and that when they noticed he was neutered they let him go," Bair said. However, Bair said she fears they took Mission to be a bait dog, in other words dogs used to test other dogs' fighting abilities.

Zach Hinton, of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, said investigators are working with Bair to find the person who took the dog. He said the dog was microchipped, so they are hoping that will help them track it down.

Hinton said although a rash of similar crimes has been reported in the Midlands, there has not been a rash of animal thefts in Greenville County.

Bair said Mission has never bitten anything in his life. She said the dog grew up around her children and is a sucker for attention.

Anyone with information on Mission's whereabouts was asked to call Greenville County Crime Stoppers at 23-CRIME.

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