Did a Cable Company Employee Steal a Woman's Puppy?
Security footage appears to show the worker stop and take Melissa Cortez's 10-month-old pug.
A puppy was returned to its owner after security cameras showed a cable company employee allegedly snatching it.
Melissa Cortez was frantic when she couldn't find her 10-month-old pug, Andrew. She worried he somehow got loose from her home in Riverside, California.
Then she saw the shocking surveillance footage from a neighbor's home that showed Andrew had been abducted, allegedly by a Spectrum cable technician, who was seen taking the dog and putting it in a company van.
“He opens [the gate] oh so cautiously and just enough that he can pull Andrew out,” Cortez told Inside Edition. "Seeing that it was an employee usually people trust into their homes is infuriating."
She said she called the cable company but got the run-around so she tweeted the footage with this message: “Spectrum, one of your drivers took my dog.”
That got ignited a firestorm. Less than 24 hours later, Spectrum security had returned Andrew to her.
"It is extremely heartbreaking to see his little self just go up to the gate not knowing what was going to happen," she said of the dog's theft.
Now, she's just happy to have him home. “I was beyond ecstatic to get him. So thankful,” she said.
Spectrum told Inside Edition the employee has been "terminated."
Cortez said she has filed a police report and wants the technician who took her dog to face criminal charges.
"What he did was commit a crime and I expect him to be punished under those terms," she said.
RELATED STORIES
Trending on Inside Edition

Atlanta Man Completes Epic Feat by Riding Every Operable Ride at all 12 Disney Parks in Less Than 2 Weeks
Entertainment
Aiden Fucci Gets Life in Prison for Killing of Tristyn Bailey, Florida Cheerleader Stabbed 114 Times
Crime
Taylor Schabusiness, Suspect in Meth-Fueled Murder Who Attacked Attorney in Court, Fit to Stand Trial in July
Crime
Teacher Resigns After Allegedly Taping 11-Year-Old Boy's Mouth Shut
News
Search for US Navy Sailor Who Vanished After St. Patrick's Day Ends After Officials 'Exhaust All Efforts'
News
Beloved New York School Bus Driver Crochets Thousands of Hats for Students Since Picking Up Hobby 18 Years Ago
Human Interest