4 months ago
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HE’S FACING INDECENT ASSAULT AND OTHER CHARGES. ONLY ON FOUR TONIGHT, A RETIRED MARINE FROM DONEGAL IS DESPERATE FOR HELP TRACKING DOWN HIS TEN YEAR OLD DOG, LUCKY. THE 87 YEAR OLD FILED A POLICE REPORT TODAY AFTER HE SAYS SOMEONE TOOK OFF WITH HIS CAR WITH LUCKY INSIDE. THIS UNFOLDED OUTSIDE THE MOUNT PLEASANT TRACTOR SUPPLY. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER MIKE VALENTE SPOKE WITH THAT MAN ABOUT A DAY THAT FEELS LIKE A NIGHTMARE. WILLARD MARTS HAS HAD QUITE A FEW VISITORS COME SIT WITH HIM TODAY, BUT STILL, THE SMALL, COZY LIVING ROOM HERE FEELS A BIT EMPTY. EVEN HIS TWO YEAR OLD GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER CAN TELL SOMETHING’S OFF AS SHE LOOKS AROUND FOR HER BUDDY PERRYOPOLIS TAIL PULLEY’S EARS GRAB HIS BONE, GRAB HIS BONE. LUCKY IS AS DOCILE A PET AS THEY COME. A 55 POUND LAPDOG WHO KEEPS HIS DAD SMILING. THE DOG IS A DOG, BUT HE’S MORE THAN A DOG TO ME. AND I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD SAY THAT. I THINK. WILLARD’S DAUGHTER COULD NOT SAY IT BETTER HERSELF. THEY RIDE THE GOLF CART TOGETHER. THEY DO EVERYTHING TOGETHER CONSTANTLY. HE’S A SHADOW. SO FOR WILLARD, THIS WHOLE DAY HAS FELT SURREAL. ABOUT 845 THIS MORNING, HE PULLED UP TO TRACTOR SUPPLY TO GET LUCKY. SOME DOG FOOD. HE SAID HE LOCKED HIS CAR. THIS ONE ON YOUR SCREEN. AND THEN COULD FEEL A HAND IN HIS POCKET. WAS HE PULLED HIS HAND BACK OUT OF MY POCKET AND WENT RACING TOWARDS MY CAR. WILLARD DID NOT GET A GREAT LOOK AT THE GUY. LOOKED LIKE HE MAYBE HAD UNKEMPT HAIR, BUT IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST IN AN INSTANT, LUCKY WAS GONE. LUCKY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY VEHICLE, ANYTHING AT ALL. THAT IS LIKE MY FATHER’S BEST FRIEND. BEST FRIEND AND A PRECIOUS REMINDER OF HIS SON. LUCKY’S ORIGINAL OWNER, WHO DIED IN 2020. WHEN HE DIED, LUCKY NEEDED A NEW HOME. I KNEW HIM, I LIKED HIM, I KEPT HIM. WILLARD HAD A LOT OF DOGS OVER THE YEARS, BUT HE SAYS NONE LIKE LUCKY. WHO’S BEEN AT HIS SIDE RECENTLY. AS WILLARD UNDERGOES RADIATION TREATMENT FOR CANCER. I’M 87 YEARS YOUNG, SO I AIN’T GOT TOO MANY MORE YEARS TO GO. AND HIS FAMILY AND IT HURTS. --. STATE POLICE CONFIRM FOR US, THEY ARE INVESTIGATING. AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE WATCHING THIS AND YOU’D LIKE TO HELP. WILLARD’S CAR IS A 2016 SILVER FORD FOCUS. AND LUCKY IS A TEN YEAR OLD AIREDA
'He's more than a dog to me': Retired Marine's pet missing after car stolen
Willard Martz endured a long and grueling day on Monday as he waited for news about his best friend.Sister station WTAE spoke to Martz and his family inside his Pennsylvania home, nearly 12 hours after he was the victim of a car theft. But while sitting with Martz in his living room Monday night, it was apparent his car was secondary."The dog is a dog," Martz said, trying to hold back tears. "But he’s more than a dog to me."Martz, 87, said he had just pulled into the parking lot of a Tractor Supply store in Mount Pleasant at about 8:45 a.m. Monday. He said he locked his car, with his 10-year-old Airedale Terrier, Lucky, inside.Moments later, he said, he could feel a hand in his pocket."He pulled his hand back out of my pocket and went racing towards my car," Martz said.The man appeared to have unkempt hair, but everything happened so fast. The man in question had managed to get ahold of Martz's keys. And before Martz could process what happened, the man was behind the wheel, driving off with Lucky inside."Lucky is more important than any vehicle, anything at all," said Linda Folino, Willard's daughter. "He is like my father’s best friend."Pennsylvania State Police confirmed for WTAE that troopers are investigating the incident.Martz's car is a 2016 silver Ford Focus, with a license plate of KVR-6440. "If you have , please drop him off someplace," Martz said. "Don’t let him run wild. Bring him home, bring him home."
Willard Martz endured a long and grueling day on Monday as he waited for news about his best friend.
Sister station WTAE spoke to Martz and his family inside his Pennsylvania home, nearly 12 hours after he was the victim of a car theft. But while sitting with Martz in his living room Monday night, it was apparent his car was secondary.
"The dog is a dog," Martz said, trying to hold back tears. "But he’s more than a dog to me."
Martz, 87, said he had just pulled into the parking lot of a Tractor Supply store in Mount Pleasant at about 8:45 a.m. Monday. He said he locked his car, with his 10-year-old Airedale Terrier, Lucky, inside.
Moments later, he said, he could feel a hand in his pocket.
"He pulled his hand back out of my pocket and went racing towards my car," Martz said.
The man appeared to have unkempt hair, but everything happened so fast. The man in question had managed to get ahold of Martz's keys. And before Martz could process what happened, the man was behind the wheel, driving off with Lucky inside.
"Lucky is more important than any vehicle, anything at all," said Linda Folino, Willard's daughter. "He is like my father’s best friend."
Pennsylvania State Police confirmed for WTAE that troopers are investigating the incident.
Martz's car is a 2016 silver Ford Focus, with a license plate of KVR-6440.
"If you have [Lucky], please drop him off someplace," Martz said. "Don’t let him run wild. Bring him home, bring him home."
English (US)