SELMA, Calif. (KMPH) -
"I'm very heartbroken for him. Because I just don't want anything to happen to him. He's just so sweet," Melody Overholser said holding back tears.
Overholser stopped by the Selma Animal Shelter Tuesday morning, just like she always does, to feed the dogs.
"When I went out, George is normally at the kennel waiting for me, I looked and he wasn't there," she said.
"George", a four–year–old pit bull, is pretty popular at the shelter.
"George is an absolute love. He is a shelter favorite, he's a volunteer favorite, he's a community favorite. He's just this big ol' goof that you can practically just lay on. He does not meet a stranger and this is what worries us so much," Overholser said.
Just outside the shelter you can see fresh paw prints on the ground.
Melody is heartbroken over where the crooks may have taken him and what they plan to do with him.
"Your first and foremost thought is the worst. I tend to think that pit bulls sometimes are taken from a shelter because they are used as bait dogs. And this is obviously fighting dogs, that you take a pit that is more submissive and, we all know what happens after that," Overholser said.
Melody says although George's gate was open, the main gate was closed and locked up, which leads her to believe that whoever took him somehow has access to the shelter.
"George weighs approximately 70 pounds, and to lift him over the fence, you'd have to be a mighty strong guy," Overholser said. "There is barbed wire all the way around."
It's why she's trying to get the locks changed.
But Melody says the shelter's rural location still makes it vulnerable.
And with two dogs stolen in two weeks, she feels like it's now a target.
"We feel completely helpless. We are out in the middle of nowhere. Obviously it's a bad place for the volunteers. It's very isolated. Sometimes I'm out there at night by myself. It's a danger to the dogs as well," Overholser said.
In the meantime, there's a dog out there that needs you.
Melody is pleading for everyone to help find George, before it's too late.
If you have any information on where George might be, you're urged to call Selma Police at 559-896–2525. You can remain anonymous.
Melody says she is offering a reward for his return and will take him back, no questions asked.
If you'd like to contact the Selma Animal Shelter, you can find them on Facebook at http://SelmaAnimalShelter.org/ or send them an email at selmaanimalshelter@gmail.com.
Melody says they are trying hard to move the shelter to a new building.
They are just waiting for a piece of property to open up and for the city council to approve it.
