Veteran With PTSD Reunited With Dog That Was Stolen From Family's Yard

A dog who helps an Iraq War veteran cope with post-traumatic stress disorder has been returned to her owners after being stolen from their yard.  

Francisco Torres and his 8-month-old German shepherd were reunited on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The pup ― whose name is TJ, authorities told The Huffington Post, despite having referred to her as PJ in a press release ― is in “good condition and is doing well” after being removed from Torres' yard on Halloween.

She's part of our family, and mostly it's more important for her to come back for my husband, because he suffers from PTSD and she's been really good to him.

Angela Torres

“She's part of our family, and mostly it's more important for her to come back for my husband, because he suffers from PTSD and she's been really good to him,” Torres' wife, Angela, told local L.A. news channel ABC7 as she held back tears.

Surveillance footage shows someone unlocking the couple's front gate and enticing TJ to come out.

The couple let their neighbors know the following day that TJ was missing. One neighbor said they recognized the person who took the dog as a friend of theirs. 

“That's why she went with him,” Angela told news channel KTLA.

Sheriff's officials have said that the incident wasn't a crime and that intent can't be proven because the dog was not forcibly removed, but that the couple can file a suspicious circumstances report in order to help them track down the person who took TJ.

“Somebody opens the gate and lures my dog out,” Francisco told KTLA. “To find out that it's not a crime - come on.”

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