Thieves ditch stolen SUV, leave dog to die

For car theft victim Michael McVey, the tragedy wasn’t losing his car, it was losing his dog.

McVey’s dog, Keiko, a 15-year-old Akita, was in the back seat of his Nissan Pathfinder when it was swiped from the parking lot of the Gilroy Walmart.

With the help of San Jose police, McVey’s SUV was recovered four days later at a San Jose Walmart.

But the thieves neglected to provide Keiko with food or water, and the dog was found dead in McVey’s vehicle.

Speaking to the San Jose Mercury News, McVey called for justice for the suffering Keiko endured at the hands of the thieves:

“She didn’t survive after four days without food or water. I’m pretty disgusted — it’s horrible that they did that, just left her there like that and walked away. I want to see them brought to justice.”

McVey, who is 56 and unmarried, shared a special bond with his dog Keiko. Josh Harris, 25, whose family owns the San Martin property where McVey lives, recounts how McVey would treat his dog better than he would tream himself:

“He loved his dog so much it was to the point where I thought he was weird … He’d go make a T-bone steak for her, then pop a frozen dinner in the microwave for himself.”

Security footage from the Gilroy Walmart has identified the two males believed responsible for the theft. Gilroy Police Sgt. Pedro Espinoza hopes that by making the image public, the two men responsible will be brought to justice.

“Hopefully, once we put this out to the public someone will say, ‘Hey, that looks like so-and-so,’ and we’ll go from there,”

Espinoza described one of the men as being between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8, featuring and average build and a goatee, while his partner was listed as 6 feet  to 6-feet-2 with a thinner build.

Anyone with any information regarding the two men may make an anonymous statement by calling 1-800-782-7436.