A Las Vegas couple has been reunited with their 12-year-old Yorkie, Ricky, weeks after he was allegedly snatched from their front yard by a stranger. Natasha Veiga and Scott Reynolds got their dog back after friends and family tracked down the woman suspected of taking him, according to 8 News Now.

Surveillance video had shown a woman walk up to the couple’s yard on August 22, scoop up Ricky and drive off in under a minute. Veiga said the elderly, fragile dog was gone before she even realized their gate latch had failed and swung open.

Rather than wait on police alone, friends and family began digging through the suspected dognapper’s social media accounts to identify her possible addresses.

They staked out multiple locations and had people pose as buyers in her online marketplace listings to help close in on her.

Veiga filed a report with Las Vegas Metro Police on August 24, two days after Ricky disappeared. In the days that followed, the family says they were flooded with texts from people claiming to have Ricky and demanding payment before offering any proof, a pattern that fits warnings from the Federal Trade Commission about scammers exploiting lost pet posts.

Ricky’s case is a reminder of how vulnerable small dogs can be to theft. The American Kennel Club’s tracking data shows toy breeds like Yorkshire Terriers are among the most frequently stolen dogs nationwide, largely because their small size makes them easy to grab and quickly resell.

Under Nevada law, dogs are classified as personal property rather than covered by kidnapping statutes, meaning prosecution in a case like Ricky’s would hinge on the animal’s value.

Stealing a pet worth under $1,200 is petit larceny, a misdemeanor, while a higher-value animal can trigger felony grand larceny charges.

Separately, Nevada Revised Statute 41.740 lets pet owners recover veterinary costs, lost market value, and attorney’s fees, capped at $5,000 per pet, when someone intentionally or recklessly injures or kills another person’s animal.

Legal and animal welfare groups estimate that roughly 2 million dogs are stolen nationwide each year, and only about 6 percent are ever reunited with their original owners.

Veiga and Reynolds are urging other Las Vegas pet owners to double check their gate latches after their own hardware failed without warning.

They are also asking anyone who recognizes the woman described in the surveillance video, heavy set with long purple or red braids, to contact Las Vegas Metro Police if they have information related to the case.