UPDATE | Aaron Ganz and his beloved dog are back together after the Long Beach Police Department found Ganz’s stolen car, which had Bauer, a 7-year-old Maltese-poodle mix, inside when it was taken.

Police said they spotted the car around 5:30 p.m. near 10th Street and Walnut Avenue and quickly found the suspected thief at a nearby home.

“Officers went to the residence and contacted a female adult suspect in possession of the stolen dog and took her into custody,” police said.

The car had been stolen from a 7-Eleven parking lot on Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue a day earlier.

The suspected thief, a 33-year-old Long Beach woman, was booked into jail on suspicion of one count of grand theft auto and one count of grand theft money/labor/property, police said. Her bail was set at $35,000.

Officers reunited Bauer with Ganz and returned the car, the LBPD said.

PREVIOUSLY: Long Beach man pleads for help finding dog stolen along with car

1/28/23 at 4:33 p.m. | A Long Beach man is asking for the public’s help finding his dog, which was inside his car when it was stolen from a convenience store parking lot Friday afternoon.

Aaron Ganz, 44, says he parked his car at a 7-Eleven on Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue sometime around 6:40 p.m., leaving his dog, Bauer, a 7-year-old Maltese-poodle mix, inside while he made a quick trip to the store.

Bauer, a 7-year-old Maltese-poodle mix, whose owner says was inside a car that was stolen from the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Long Beach. Photo courtesy of Aaron Ganz.

But when Ganz walked back outside three minutes later, his car, a 2016 dark gray Ford Escape, was gone, and so was Bauer.

The first thing he thought, he said, was that maybe he forgot where he parked his car, but eventually, it began to set in that someone may have taken it.

Police confirmed they’ve received a report about Ganz’s stolen car; however, no further information was immediately available.

The car Aaron Ganz says was stolen, along with his dog, from a 7-Eleven parking lot in Long Beach. Photo courtesy of Aaron Ganz.

Ganz, who is originally from Canada, met Bauer while living in San Pedro. Ganz said he didn’t think he’d keep the 3-month-old puppy at first, but the two quickly bonded and they’ve been inseparable since.

He described their relationship as two best friends who have never been apart, that’s why he’s been particularly worried and “can’t imagine” how this time without each other might be affecting Bauer.

“That’s my best friend in the world,” Ganz said about Bauer. “He’s the closest thing I have to family right now.”

Bauer was last seen wearing his checkered harness and a brown collar, Ganz said, adding that his dog is also microchipped.

“Anybody who brings him back can name their pay-it-forward price,” Ganz said.

Ganz asks anyone who may know where Bauer is to contact him at 424-535-7333.

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