Tails wag and tears flow as stolen dog returns home

TAMPA (FOX 13) - More than a month after he was dog-napped, Guido the pug is home.

Back on May 29, Donald Murray's car was stolen from a parking lot off North Dale Mabry while he worked to clean the lot. Sleeping inside the car was Guido, a 7-year-old pug.

Guido was like family to Murray. The pair were together around the clock, even when the 69-year-old was working.

"He is my playmate, he is my companion, my teacher, he's just a million different things," Murray said at the time.

Murray's Dodge Stratus was found the next day, but there was no sign of Guido. He'd begun to lose hope, even after Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay offered a $3,000 reward for the missing pug.

But apparently, Guido had been ditched by the car thief, too. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says he was dropped off behind a Publix and then wandered over to Majik Touch Cleaners & Laundry, where employees figured he'd been abandoned.

That's when Karlene Rowell decided to take the pug home. She took care of him for a month before an anonymous tip helped follow Guido's trail.

Deputies brought Murray to Rowell's home Tuesday night, and he was near tears to be reunited with his best friend.

"My sweet boy! Yes!" Murray exclaimed as Guido wagged his tail and, seemingly, his whole body.

"Although Karlene and her family were sad to say goodbye to Guido, she was more than happy to reunite him with his owner," a sheriff's office spokesman offered.

"Thank you! I love you so much," the grateful Murray told Rowell.