Pasadena Police use pet GPS collar to reunite woman with stolen car and dog – Pasadena Now

Kazoo, a companion dog caught when its owner’s car was stolen in Pasadena on December 2, 2021, when he was found by Los Angeles police later that day near the 105 Freeway in Los Angeles. [Photo courtesy of Pasadena Police]

Pasadena Police said a GPS-enabled dog collar helped them recover two stolen vehicles, reunite a stolen pet dog with its owner and arrest a suspected car thief last week.

The incident began around 8 a.m. on December 2 when a woman made a delivery to a business on the 900 block of East Union Street. She let her car ride with her dog in the car, according to Pasadena Police Lt. Bill Grisafe.

When she returned two minutes later, the car was gone, he said. The victim told officers who responded that her dog was in the car and a GPS device was attached to her collar.

The suspect arrested for allegedly stealing a car containing a pet dog in Pasadena on December 2 was William Urizar, 26. Arresting officers reportedly found him near the car with dog hair covering his shirt. [Photo courtesy of Pasadena Police]

The person who picked up his car left behind a previously reported stolen vehicle, police said.

Officers began using the victim’s cell phone to track the collar, Grisafe said.

Hours later, with the help of Los Angeles Police, the car and pet dog were found under 105 Freeway on Main Street in Los Angeles.

“He was abandoned. The door was open, ”Grisafe said. The companion dog, later identified as “Kazoo”, sat inside unharmed.

“There was an individual near the car. It’s an area of several homeless settlements, ”Grisafe said. “The suspect who was near the car was arrested. The main probable cause of the arrest was that he had the dog’s hair, fur, the back of his shirt on his back.

William Urizar, 26, has been taken into custody, Grisafe said.