Fresno man leaves car unattended with dog inside for a split second, car & dog get stolen

FRESNO, Calif. — For a split second, a man leaves his car running unattended with his dog inside, and it gets stolen, he says.

Travis Van Winkle has been searching for his car and his dog since Monday afternoon.

When Fox 26 news arrived with Van Winkle on Friday afternoon around 3:30, he received a call from officials before our interview.

"I'm talking to the news right now. Did you find the car?," said Van Winkle, as he speaks on the phone with an officer.

He got the news that his car had been found, but not his dog.

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Van Winkle's says he rescued his dog, Booger, two months ago. He's a Jack Terrier Chihuahua and is friendly. He says if you come across him, you can give him a call at 559-722-9311.

“He’s a part of our family, I just want him back bad. I don’t know what to do. My roommate has anxiety about him being gone and he helps with my depression," he said.

And, he says he won't stop looking for him until he finds him. "I know he's out there, they probably kicked him out," he said.

Van winkle says he was parked inside the Walmart parking lot near Ashlan and Blackstone avenues when it happened.

He say a shopping cart was in the way, so he got out of his car to move it.

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He says all it took was about 30 seconds for the crooks to take off speeding with his car with his dog inside.

Van winkle is now asking the community's help to find his dog. He put up these flyers around town with a picture of his dog.

He even got to the point where he posted on Facebook that he would sign the pink slip and give away the car for the return of his dog to the crooks.

He is now offering a $500 dollar reward to whoever finds him.

"It hurt so bad. I’d rather have the dog than the car because the car is replaceable. Dog’s aren't," he said.