Theft
Dog disappearances continue in The Acreage
Owners suspect theft ring
Apr 1, 2014
Sheena Matters is desperate to get back her 4-month-old Rottweiler puppy Nala.
"They stole her right from our yard," said Matters, who filed a report with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. "It was so brazen."
Matters is the latest dog owner in western Palm Beach County whose pet has disappeared in recent months.
She and others posting on a lost Loxahatchee pets page on Facebook fear that criminals could be stealing the dogs to sell or use as bait in dog-fight training.
In this case, Matters said her father-in-law went inside briefly on Friday afternoon to get a drink, leaving Nala in the yard.
When he came back outside, a white, two-door pickup full of teenagers was pulling away and Nala was gone.
"We can't sleep," said Matters as she and her husband posted fliers around town Monday. "We're just so worried. There are evil people out here doing evil things to animals. It's heartless."
Man pretending to have found dog charged with stealing it
Apr 04, 2014
The Matter family said they think WPBF 25 News' report on Monday, along with the help of some community-minded citizens, are why their beloved Nala is back at home after having been stolen from their yard last week.
A Royal Palm Beach man has been charged in connection with a stolen Rottweiler he claimed on Facebook to have helped find.
Nala was returned home to Robert and Sheena Matter on Tuesday, a day after WPBF 25 News profiled her theft and reported someone in a white pickup stole her from her yard in The Acreage.
While she was missing, 20-year-old Dylan Waterman wrote on the Loxahatchee Lost And Found Pets Facebook page that he "found some stuff out and ended up finding the puppy, called the (owner) and am bringing her back now."
Detectives wrote in their arrest report that it was Waterman's brother who returned Nala. They said Waterman had contacted someone else on Facebook, offering to trade Nala for a golf cart that was for sale. He included a picture of the puppy, which detectives determined was Nala.
Waterman also showed up to meet detectives in a white pickup truck.
They said Waterman admitted he knew Nala was stolen and had tried to trade her for the golf cart.
Waterman faces grand theft and dealing in stolen property by use of the Internet. Nala is happily recovering back with her grateful owners.
