MESA, Ariz. - A service dog is now back with his owner after she said the dog was stolen earlier this month.
What they're saying:
Janna Reynolds feels a lot better with her service dog, Buddy, back by her side.
"He's not just my service animal, he's my pet and we love him," Reynolds said.
That's what made her phone call to police earlier this month all the more emotional.
"He was taken from me, stolen from me," Reynolds said.
The backstory:
Mesa Officer Erica Gregg said police had a name right away.
"She was under the impression that the known male took her dog for a walk. Short time later he just never returned," Gregg said.
Mesa police tracked down Geoffrey Washington.
"He was extremely uncooperative with us, indicating he was in Phoenix and basically told officers to file charges and would not return the dog," Gregg said.
So that's what they did.
Officers said, at some point, Washington turned the dog into the Arizona Humane Society. Police then picked up the service dog, named Buddy, and reunited him with his owner.
Dig deeper:
Reynolds said Buddy helps detect her blood sugar, and without him, she passed out last week and injured herself.
"He'll sit next to me and alert me if my blood pressure is too low to stand up or need to lay down, and I get it regulated before I stand up so I don't fall," Reynolds said.
At Washington's initial appearance, he appeared to try to rush the prosecution's testimony from officers.
"Mr. Washington, is there an issue? I'm ready. So what, what's the deal?" a judge said. "We're just going to let her continue. She's making her argument for what her bond request is going to be. Please stay at the podium, sir. God, this, it doesn't matter."
Officer Gregg said it was rewarding to see the case through.
"It feels good to close out a case. We don't come across cases like this too often, but when we do, we think of animals as our family, so we want to see it through, and in this case we did see it through and return Buddy home," Gregg said.
Reynolds was thankful Officer Gregg cared so much.
"I never felt like I was alone in the situation even when it got tough," Reynolds said. "When the guy was calling and texting, they were right there on the line with me. I was never alone."
Geoffrey Washington
What's next:
Washington is charged with theft, animal cruelty, and endangerment.
"I'll just beat it in trial. It's no big deal," Washington told the judge.
Reynolds said she doesn't know what her dog went through the last two weeks, but she said Buddy will need to go through some retraining, based on his behavior.
It will likely cost her several thousand dollars.
The Source: This information was gathered by the Mesa Police Department and Buddy's owner.