"I looked, and I went 'Oh, my God! She's gone!'"
Real estate agent Carly Brooks left her Hamilton Township, Mercer County house for two hours Thursday afternoon. When she came home, she discovered her home had been burglarized.
The thieves stole about $5,000 worth of jewelry. But what upset her much more was that they'd also taken a mahogany box that sat on her dresser, a box that contained the ashes of her beloved Cocker Spaniel, "Girlie."
"I was devastated, I was hysterical, I was crying. The policemen were looking at me," said Carly.
Girlie's ashes were in a plastic bag. The theft is especially upsetting to Carly because she just lost her dog in February.
"I just put her down, I mean it's pretty fresh, pretty raw," she said. "I had her 11 years. I expected to have her much longer. She was diagnosed with lymphoma.
Carly is resigned to the fact she may never see the jewelry that was stolen again. But she is hoping the thieves will have a heart and return her dog's ashes.
"It's Girlie, It's all about her. If I had her ashes back I'd feel better," she said.
Carly, who is also a professional golf instructor, is asking for the return of the ashes with no questions asked. But she knows the thieves may have just dumped Girlie's remains once they saw them in the box.
"And I think that's probably the case. But there have been miracles in my life and I suppose this would be a very large one to happen."
And that's why Carly Brooks is keeping up hope that somehow her dog Girlie might still come home.
