Beloved dog returned safe to Montco. family

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Montgomery County family is extra thankful this Thanksgiving holiday after being reunited with their beloved dog.

The dog's owner Andrea Licwinko says that a neighbor found the missing pup after she was stolen from the backyard of their home Sunday night.

Abby the Silky Terrier is something of a celebrity in her Montgomery County neighborhood. The kids have all read about her in a book called "A Home for Abby".

Andrea said she let Abby out into the fenced backyard, but came back minutes later and Abby was gone.

A neighbor says he saw a white car stopped in the alley and then speeding off.

"I can't believe that people can be so cruel, but it's that kind of world today," Andrea said.

Andrea and Phil Licwinko bought Abby in Florida five years ago.

He was smitten the moment he held her.

"Oh golly, she was a gem," Phil said.

They spent Monday stapling up posters and going door-to-door handing out flyers.

Andrea was so taken by Abby's personality, she wrote the self-published children's book.

Just about every kid in the neighborhood has a copy and they loved seeing Abby in her backyard.

As elderly empty nesters, Abby was the center of Phil and Andrea's lives.

"All the children are gone, all the grandchildren are gone, and she was our whole life," Andrea said.

They wonder who could take away such an important part of their lives.

"Some heartless person. They don't realize that people love their animals so much that to do something like this is almost like taking a child. It hurts us," Phil said.