Snow Camp couple searching for their stolen dog in Alamance County

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SNOW CAMP, N.C. (WGHP) — A dog was stolen in broad daylight right in front of the owner in Alamance County.

The couple is asking for your help tonight to find their Australian Shepherd.

“It is heartbreaking because we don’t know if he’s being taken care of,” said Gayle Smith.

Gayle and her husband Michael have burned three tanks of gas in three days driving around town searching for their dog Bailey.

On Wednesday around noon, two men stole their Australian Shepherd from his yard on Bass Mountain Road in Snow Camp while Michael was standing only 60 feet away.

“I’m asking for favors from people to look for this dog,” said Michael. “It’s the sweetest animal that I know of and help find the two youngins that took my dog.”

Bailey was playing in the yard about 20 feet from the street. Michael was on the other side of the yard with his other dog. That’s when the young men in a truck pulled up along the road, grabbed the dog and took off.

“I wasn’t going to be able to reach the truck before I could catch them,” said Michael. “I had one dog gone and one dog here at the house. I had to put him up, so I lost some time.”

Their four-year-old Aussie, who they’ve had since he was a puppy, was taken within seconds.

“I can’t tell you how bad it hurts not knowing where he is and who has him, how far away he is,” said Gayle. “We don’t know. We just want him back home.”

It wasn’t just heartbreaking for the couple, but for their dog Tank, too.

“He cries every night because his brother Bailey is not here,” said Gayle. “He cries and whimpers all night long.”

The Smiths are putting up stolen dog signs at businesses across town in hopes that someone will recognize bailey.

Michael doesn’t have the license plate number from the truck. All he knows is it was an older model red Ford Ranger.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office is investigating and actively searching for anyone who has a camera that might’ve caught footage of the truck.

The Smiths don’t have any security cameras on their property and neither do their neighbors.

“People that steal dogs target these type of areas because there’s no street lights,” said Gayle. “There’s no cameras. There’s no stop lights with cameras.”

With not much to go on, they’re begging for someone to come forward with information. They’re even offering a reward to the person who finds Bailey.

“Whoever’s watching, if you have our dog, if you will just bring him back home,” said Gayle. “No questions asked. We just want our dog back and we want him back safely.”