SAN ANTONIO – Update:
A local veteran’s emotional support dog and her pickup truck have been located after being stolen from an H-E-B parking lot late last week.
The family of Karen Lucchesi, a US Marine Corps veteran and 28-year firefighter retiree, confirmed to KSAT on Sunday that both her dog and vehicle have been found. Both were taken out of an H-E-B parking lot on Military Drive and Pleasanton Road on Thursday.
Earlier Sunday, someone spotted Lucchesi’s dog, Hoochie, wandering down a street about two blocks away from the Alamodome, took a picture and shared it online.
Her friends saw the online post and immediately picked up the dog. Lucchesi’s family said he’s “healthy and in good spirits.”
Unfortunately, her red 2012 Ford F-150 pickup truck was found at an impound lot. Her family said she’s working with the lot and with law enforcement to recover it.
Original:
A local veteran and San Antonio Police are asking for help to locate a PTSD assistance dog and a pickup truck stolen from an H-E-B parking lot on the South Side.
Karen Lucchesi, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and 28-year firefighter retiree, said her red 2012 Ford F-150 pickup was reported stolen from the H-E-B near Pleasanton Road and S.W. Military Drive on Thursday afternoon. She said her 12-year-old male dog, Hoochie, was inside the vehicle she had left running while she went into the store.
“I left the car on for the A/C to be running. The window was a little cracked,” Lucchesi said.
She said the stolen vehicle not only had her dog inside but also her wallet and phone too. However, her main concern is retrieving her dog.
“I’ve suffered from depression for a long time, and he’s gotten me through some very difficult moments in my life. And he’s, even though he’s not a person, he’s still my best friend,” Lucchesi said.
Hoochie is described as a brown senior pit bull mix dog with white hair around his mouth. Lucchesi said it’s hard for her dog to see and hear.
H-E-B officials said surveillance cameras show a man and a woman approaching the truck. The man drove away in the vehicle, and the woman walked off.
Police have access to the video. However, it is not being released to the public at this time.
There is a reward for the return of Hoochie and the truck. If you have any information, you’re asked to call the San Antonio Police Auto Theft Unit at 210-207-7345.