But authorities now say the dog, a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador named Moose, was stolen by a neighbor who found him near her home on May 31. The suspect, 24-year-old Jacqueline Lockhard, then allegedly caused the dog’s death by leaving him in a hot car.
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| RIP Moose |
According to Delran police, Lockhard returned Moose’s remains to his owners on July 13, saying she had found the dog dead while jogging.
But Moose’s owners and police were suspicious of her account, and Lockhard, who is described as a would-be dog trainer, was charged Thursday with theft of lost or mislaid property and hindering apprehension.
The Burlington County SPCA also filed animal cruelty charges, according to Delran police.
Sissy Workman, Moose’s owner, could not be reached Friday. But she celebrated Thursday on a Facebook page that initially was dedicated to Moose’s return and then to achieving justice in his case.
“WE GOT HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Workman wrote. “I promised Moose every night I was not going to rest until I found out what happened and who did it!! I knew who did it but had to be patient. Man that was hard!”
Lockhard was ordered held in the minimum security facility of Burlington County Jail in Pemberton Township on $5,000 bail.
According to police, Moose vanished after jumping over a four-foot fence at the Workmans’ home on North Chester Avenue near Roland Street.
The dog allegedly was taken in by Lockhard, who lives nearby in the first block of Stewart Avenue.
The dog’s disappearance prompted a massive response from the community, said John Browne Sr., a Delanco jeweler who started a reward fund for Moose’s return.
The fund had reached about $1,000, he said Friday.
“There was a huge effort to find Moose,” he said. “They used posters, social media, everything.
“But I think a lot of folks could tell the dog was kidnapped,” said Browne. “It smelled like foul play from the get-go. It’s still hard to believe.”
Sissy Workman sounded that same suspicion in an early online appeal for information about Moose’s whereabouts.
“We believe he was picked up by someone and removed from the area,” she said in a Facebook posting.
According to online information and published reports, Lockhard placed the dog with a Pennsylvania family but remained involved as his trainer.
When Lockhard returned the dog’s body to the Workmans, she claimed to have found Moose under an Army tank outside an American Legion building in nearby Riverside.
“I am going to tell the story and you can figure out for yourself if it is the truth,” Workman wrote in a Facebook account that described Lockhard as “the person we suspected from the beginning.”
Among other concerns, Workman noted she had distributed fliers in that area one day earlier. She also questioned her dog’s appearance.
“He did not die under the tank. He was not outside at all,” wrote Workman, who added a veterinarian told her Moose likely died in an overheated car.
Workman’s suspicions were accompanied by sorrow.
“All I know is he is home … not the way I wanted it, but he is home,” said the dog owner, who buried Moose in her yard.
“His ears were soft and I got to say I was sorry for not finding him, for not protecting him from bad people.”
(Cherry Hill Courier Post - Aug 4, 2012)
