Valuable dog stolen from Grey County family

A family pet was stolen near Hanover. Its owner believes they were targeted because of their unique, valuable dog. CTV London’s Scott Miller reports.

Lucy’s dog crate sits empty on Lauren Coates’ kitchen floor, her food bowl, still full of food.

Coates said the one-year-old Australian Kelpie they rescued six months ago, and that was being trained to be her therapy dog, was stolen on Wednesday while Coates and her partner were at work.

“She is very valuable, but she is also a beloved family member and we need to bring her home,” said Coates from her Hanover-area home.

Coates believes Lucy was stolen because of her breed, and the price tag attached to Australian Kelpies.

“A Kelpie can go for anywhere from $2,000, all the way up to $10,000,” said Coates.

Coates said she is aware of three other Australian Kelpies stolen in Grey-Bruce within the past two weeks.

“She’s my therapy dog, and the way my mental health has been going lately, she’s the one that calms it,” said a heartbroken Coates.

Coates said the thieves who took Lucy also snatched her late mother’s jewelry.

She and her partner don’t feel safe in their own home, she said, but she holds out hope that Lucy will find her way back to their Mulock Road home somehow.

“I’m a firm believer in hope. Lucy actually is my hope. She’s been my hope since the day we got her. The day we rescued her from a really bad situation,” said Coates.