Couple Heartbroken After Burglars Steal Puppy

Oliver was in his crate when burglars took him during a home invasion Wednesday. (Screenshot: WYYZ video)

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An uptick in home burglaries has left residents of affluent Detroit suburbs on edge for the past few weeks, but the loot taken in a Wednesday home invasion was especially unnerving for a Grosse Pointe Woods couple whose door was among those kicked in.

The thief or thieves got away with two televisions and jewelry, possessions that can be replaced.Not so with what Ken and Laura Bacha prize most – not a possession at all, but a beloved family member:

Oliver, a not-yet-year-old mop-haired Yorkshire Terrier puppy who wriggled his way into the Bachas’ hearts the moment they rescued him.

“To think that somebody else could own him or potentially harm him is very devastating,” Ken Bacha told The Detroit News.

Laura Bacha made a tearful appeal to burglars on WXYZ-Channel 7 to return Oliver, no questions asked, and offered a reward through a police department tip line.

“Leave him on the doorstep. Leave him in the backyard. I don’t care,” she sobbed. “Just bring him back.”

It’s unclear if her appeal was the tail that wagged the dog, but Oliver and the Bachas have been reunited. Grosse Pointe Woods police said in a statement that “Oliver has been recovered, is safe and sound and has been turned over to the family today.”

8 Arrests, But ‘We Know There Are Other Criminals’

Oliver was likely stolen between 7:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday while the couple was at work, a typical pattern among the burglars Grosse Pointe Woods police warned residents are working an area in the south end of town.

Police have made eight arrests, but said “we know there are other criminals coming into our community actively looking for the opportunity to commit these kinds of crimes.”

Ken Bacha’s mother, who had stopped by the home in the 1900 block of Beaufait to let the dog out for a few moments, discovered the door had been kicked in, but wasn’t until after police cleared the house and let the Bachas back in that they discovered Oliver was missing. He had been confined to a crate during robbery.

In the statement, Grosse Pointe Woods police said eight people have been arrested for suspicious activities in the area where the home invasions have been occurring, primarily in the south end of the city.

Similar activity has been reported by police in Harper Woods, where a 64-year-old woman was carjacked at gunpoint Wednesday and 30 home invasions or attempts have occurred since July 1.

Grosse Pointe Farms authorities reported a rash of home invasions as well, and said the suspects were walking through unlocked doors in many cases.

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