Family's Dog Snatched From Outside Upper West Side Grocery Store

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A family is frantically searching for their dog after a mysterious man untied and snatched the canine from outside an Upper West Side grocery store.

The red Dachshund named Luca was taken from the Garden of Eden Market on Broadway between 107th and 108th Street at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday — after one of the owners left him for less than five minutes tied up outside the entrance of the store.

Please help us find Luca who was stolen from 2780 Broadway on Sunday 12/27 at 4:30pm. We are trying to identify the individual who took him. If you have any information please call the 24th Precinct at 212-678-1811 or the Detective Squad at 212-678-1863 #UWS pic.twitter.com/xZOgb1LFH3
— NYPD 24th Precinct (@NYPD24Pct) December 29, 2020

In the surveillance video, the man bends down and pets Luca as if he's checking if the dog will bite him. When the 7-year-old Luca doesn't, the man quickly unties the dog and whisks him away.

Victoria de Grazia, a professor at Columbia University and one of Luca's owners, has handed out fliers in the area with pictures of Luca and the dog thief. She and the rest of Luca's family have also offered a $1,000 reward for anyone who finds him.

"He's the family dog, we're Italian and American. He knows the world, travels beautifully, he's just the sweetest, sweetest dog in the world," Grazia told Patch. "We hope we'll get him back."

The effort to help on social media has also been immense. Pictures of Luca and the man that walked away with him have been shared throughout multiple community Facebook pages and local Twitter accounts.

In terms of the message that Grazia has for the unidentified man, she kept it short.

"Take very good care of him. Get him back to us. That's what the good is right now in this very difficult time. That's what the good is," Grazia said.