$3,000 reward for dog stolen from parked car in South Philadelphia

PORT RICHMOND (WPVI) -- A beloved dog was stolen from his owner's car in a parking lot in South Philadelphia and now a $3,000 reward is being offered to help find the pooch.

Volunteers fanned out in Port Richmond and other locations around the city on Saturday leafleting and talking to people about "Louie," the missing black Labrador.

The 2-year-old rescue dog disappeared October 9th when school teacher J.J. Pierce had her car stolen from the parking lot of the Home Depot in South Philadelphia.

Louie was inside.

"As the days pass, I get more and more worried. It was easy to be optimistic at first and now I just picture him trying to survive," said Pierce.

Having recently moved to Philadelphia to teach at Hardy Williams High and work on a masters at Temple University, Pierce doesn't have many contacts here.

She created a Facebook page called Help Louie Get Home. That produced donations to fund a $3,000 reward - no questions asked.

At least two dozen people and their pets joined the search for Louie.

"We're thinking the dog was spotted in Port Richmond so we're just gonna fan out and do boots on the ground in different teams," said Kathy McGuire, NJ Aid for Animals.

Most, if not all of the volunteers have never met Pierce or Louie, but when they heard about what happened, they felt compelled to help.

"My heart just went out to her and Louie - thinking of him out there in this wide-open world," said Leslie Wolf.

"I think it's one thing if your dog is killed or something happens, it's terrible - but not knowing that he could be out there scared," said Bill Sanderson.

"I had to help. I saw that poor girl, what she was going through and that's her only family, she only has Louie. So we need to find Louie today," said Micki DiBella.

Pierce' s car was found in North Philadelphia, but only Louie's collar was inside. Until he's found, Pierce and her new-found friends will keep looking.

"I am completely overwhelmed and just in awe of the selflessness of these people," said Pierce.

If you have any information, you can contact the Philadelphia's 3rd police district or reach out to Pierce on the Facebook page Help Louie Get Home.