A Chicago resident from the North Side is urgently seeking the return of her family’s beloved dog after it was taken from her.

The missing pet, a five-year-old named Charlie, was last seen tied up outside a daycare by his owner as she hurried inside to collect her children. The owner hopes that surveillance footage may help identify the person responsible for taking Charlie.

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Erin Franzblau, the dog’s owner, is heartbroken over the absence of a companion that became part of her family during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We waited a long time for him,” Franzblau explained. “He came into our lives during the fall of COVID, a few years after my husband and I got married, but before we had children.”

According to Chicago police, Charlie was stolen just before 6 p.m. on Friday, near the intersection of Armitage and Clifton avenues in Lincoln Park.

“I made a mistake in the rush of a hectic day,” Franzblau admitted. “My husband was away in Denver, and I was alone, juggling the pickup of three kids: two toddlers and a baby. In my haste, I tied Charlie up outside the daycare, where I thought he would be safe and visible through a window.”

When she came back out, Charlie was gone.

“Usually, he jumps up to greet us. He’s so excited to greet us, and we both see that he’s not there,” Franzblau said. “I start freaking out, asking people where he is.”

Franzblau says home surveillance video showed her dog with someone in a dark hoodie shortly after the pet was taken.

“She was asking people, ‘Whose dog is this? Whose dog is this?,’” Franzblau said. “She did unleash the dog, and take the dog, and walk west of Racine… “She was kind to him, but he was shaking.”

She’s pleading for his return, not only to only to the public, but also to the person who may have her canine son.

“We’re hopeful that someone is just taking care of him and going to get him back to us. But it is incredibly uncertain. We’re on edge. We’re crying,” Franzblau said. “It makes me so incredibly sad for him.”

The owner says Charlie is microchipped and was last wearing a collar with an address and phone number. She’s offering a $5,000 reward for the dog’s safe return, no questions asked.