To the Editor:

On Sunday, April 6th, our West Highland white terrier was taken from her home in Northgate in New Martinsville. There were girls seen chasing her attempting to catch her. After not being able to catch her, our dog ran through the neighbor’s yard and into our yard and these girls were brazen enough to come onto the property and take her. They were seen by the neighbors taking her to the vehicle which was an older dark colored Buick or something similar. Our neighbor, who just got back from North Carolina, did not realize until speaking with us that these girls stole our dog. And oddly enough, he remembered three digits of the license number. We have now given that information to all local law enforcement agencies.

They feel, upon receiving this additional information, extremely confident that the individuals will be caught. Since that time, we have received additional calls stating these girls were seen by several people in Northgate and the vehicle description is the same. I have placed flyers with all local groomers, police, deputies, sheriffs, and state troopers.

I’m in hopes that one of these girls will come forward and do the right thing. I would think that a criminal record would affect a young person getting a job, going to college, or buying a car. There is a very good movie called “Pay it Forward” where a little boy wants to do something nice for someone and wants to teach people to return a favor and to do the right thing.

I pray that someone will “Pay it Forward” and do the right thing in this case. This dog is sadly missed by her family and we are asking for people in this wonderful area that we live in to do the right thing. As much as we would hope that money would not be the motivational factor here, we are offering a large reward for the return of our dog. I think the individual will be pleasantly surprised at what they would receive if they will do the right thing and return our dog.

I have lived here all of my life and I am proud of the good morals and values that have been instilled upon me from my family and community. I’m asking and praying that someone will “Pay It Forward” and continue those good morals and values and in return, they will receive a favor one day when they least expect it.

Deborah Yoho

John Falkenstein

New Martinsville