Alleged Thief in the Doghouse (But So Is Pup's Owner)

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BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI – Kodi, a Siberian Husky stolen while his owner shopped Monday, is back home after becoming an Internet sensation, and the man who allegedly took him is in the doghouse.

And, according to some Bloomfield-Bloomfield Hills Patch readers and Bloomfield Township Police Facebook friends, so is the person who left Kodi tethered outside the Kroger grocery store at at Long Lake and Telegraph in Bloomfield Township.

“Why would anyone leave their loved one tied outside or even in a car?” one Patch reader wrote. “Dogs are stolen all the time; why put one right into their hands?”

Related

• Siberian Husky Stolen While Owner Shops
• Happy Tails: ‘Dognapped’ Kodi Comes Home

Another reader commented: “I wouldn’t dream of leaving my dog tied to a pole while I shopped. I do hope they get the dog back and the thief prosecuted, but better yet, I hope they all learned a lesson.”

Said another: “I hope this event scared the dog owner a lot. Maybe next time they want to do a little shopping they will act like a responsible dog owner and take the dog home first.”

Points taken.

“He’s just going to walk him for the exercise,” said Barnett, a pre-med major at Michigan State University who was tied up with finals when the dog was stolen.

According to Barnett, his dad had no reason to think someone might steal Kodi. For nearly a dozen years, Chris Barnett had been walking a Husky named Scout to the same store, leaving him tethered while he went inside to buy one of the dog’s favorite treats.

“He loved lettuce, so every day, my dad would walk him to the Kroger store and buy him his head of lettuce,” Kevin Barnett told The Detroit News. “The two of them did that for 11 years before Scout died.”

Kodi isn’t a fan of lettuce, but the dog-walking routine continued.

“My dad would just buy something small for himself, like a juice,” Kevin Barnett said. “And Kodi would be tied up near a window, so it’s not like he was abandoned.”

Anonymous Tip

Bloomfield Township police Det. Sgt. James Gallagher told the Detroit Free Press the “feel-good story” spread quickly across social media platforms.

“Everyone loves animals, and everyone who has a dog knows they’re part of the family,” Gallagher said. “This tugs at the heartstrings, especially at this time of the year.”

Posts on the police department’s Facebook page on the reunion of Kodi and the pup’s human family have received nearly 14,500 likes and 3,500 shares.

Kevin Barnett said a post he put on Facebook was shared more than 10,000 times, leading to an anonymous tip that Kodi was at a mobile home park in Independence Township.

“We had offered a $1,000 reward but this person turned it down,” Barnett told The Detroit News. “They just wanted the dog home safe and sound. We passed the tip on to the police, and they obtained a search warrant.”

Kodi was hungry, but unharmed.

The man who allegedly took Kodi, Joseph Stephen Benson, 29, of Clarkston, was arrested about 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from the Bloomfield Township Police Department.

On Thursday, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges of larceny of $200 or more but less than $1,000 against Benson, who was arraigned in 48th District Court. Magistrate Howard Linden set bond at $25,000 cash. Benson is next due in court at 9 a.m. Jan. 7 before 48th District Court Judge Marc Barron.

For Gallagher, the best part was seeing Kodi wagging his tail with happiness as he was reunited with his family.

“I think the owners were very happy, but Kodi was very excited,” he told the Free Press. “When he saw his owners, you could see the joy on all their faces.”

Below, read the discussion of the dog’s return on the Bloomfield Township Police Department’s Facebook page.