On November 15th, 2021, Harper the dog had been sitting in the back of her owner’s car, parked up in a resturant parking lot in Hudson, Wisconsin awaiting the return of her owner, when a car thief climbed into the vehicle and drove away.
Harper was not alone when the car thief got in, as she has been sitting with her fellow dog. Fortunately, the other dog had been able to jump out of the car before it moved away and run from the scene – this dog was quickly found by a passer-by and returned to its owner.
However, Harper, the Pug/Boston-Terrier cross, had still been sitting in the back of the hijacked white SUV when it took off from the car park. Her owners frantically started searching for the 3 ½-year-old puppies and his missing car. The SUV was later found crashed in Minneapolis with no sign of Harper.
Justin Inman, Harper’s owner, spoke with FOX 9 shortly after her disappearance explaining how he has spent every day checking his phone in the hopes of news about her whereabouts. Having spent an extended period of time off work to look for Harper, Justin still received no information regarding Harper. “It just feels like you keep getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach,” He had said.
After finding the SUV in Coon Rapids, the suspect for the robbery, Bradley Bear Downwind, 29, was quickly taken into custody and charged for the theft. However, the thief either could not or would not speak on the fate of Harper the dog.
Despite the lack of information, the Inman family remained hopeful that the absence of Harper in the vehicle meant she was still out there somewhere waiting to be found. For anyone assisting in the search, she could be easily recognized by the distinctive white dot on her forehead between her eyes, as well as her white paws and chest.
Fortunately, a recent update posted to Justin’s Facebook page has confirmed that nearly a month after her initial disappearance, Harper is home and safe. According to Inman, the family has received a phone call from an employee that had been working on the I-35 bridge, who had spotted a dog halfway up the bluff that seemed to resemble the missing pup.
After a half-hour long drive, they arrived at the aforementioned bridge but were unable to see Harper on first inspection. They then decided to climb the bluff with a torch to make sure before heading home. It was whilst they climbed that they found Harper tucked away inside a crevice for safety and warmth. She immediately recognized her owners and ran to them upon hearing her name.
She had apparently lost a lot of weight during her time on the streets. However, after a visit to the emergency vet, she was cleared to go home. She is now resting with her family after her ordeal. Inman finished the post with a sincere thank you to everyone that had helped with the search for Harper.
“Thank you so incredibly much to Lost K9 for their huge help/support, to the hundreds of people volunteering to hang her fliers, to the thousands sharing our posts- you’ve made an impact that truly changed our lives, and I promise it is something we will never be able to repay. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”