[UPDATE: Meeko has been found! See below.]
Aw man. Some awful people out there. In San Jose, a family is pleading for the safe return of the family dog after burglars broke into their home and stole their puppy: Little girl pleads for puppy's safe return.
The Mabanag family's house has been burglarized twice in the last year. This time, the heartless bastard thieves not only broke in and made off with thousands of dollars in electronics, they took a member of the family -- a 6-month-old Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix puppy named Meeko.
The most heartbreaking part? 10-year-old Marissa Mabanag is offering the contents of her own piggy bank for Meeko's safe return.
Meeko was nowhere to be found after Michael Mabanag came home Monday afternoon to an open garage, shattered rear sliding-glass door, a slough of pried cabinets, and an array of missing electronics, purses and bicycles.The police and fire unions, as well as the office of City Councilman Ash Kalra, have all pitched in for a $6,000 reward. More here: South San Jose family pleads for puppy snatched in home burglary.
"The first thing, I was calling for the dog," said Michael Mabanag, an IT specialist for Applied Materials whose brother is a San Jose police officer. "It was one of the worst days of my life. How do you break that to your daughter?"
Marissa Mabanag told a group of reporters how she and her sister taught Meeko how to roll over and speak, and how the pup is a dead ringer for "Chewbacca from 'Star Wars.' "
"Whatever you do," Marissa said to the cameras, addressing whoever has him, "can you just return him back?"
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Meeko can contact the Mabanag family at 408-224-0765 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP or svcrimestoppers.org.
UPDATE: Meeko, the puppy stolen from the Mabanag family home earlier this week, has been found safe in Los Banos, California: Meeko, the puppy stolen from San Jose home, found safe in Los Banos.