A Georgia woman is furious with her local police department after she says they mistakenly came to her home and accidentally letting her dog out.
It’s been a week since Beans, a six-year-old Shih Tzu, has been missing. His owner, Brittany Buford, says she thinks the officer who let him out should be out looking for her dog.
Buford got a notification on her phone that her house alarm was going off around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, January 2.
She came home only to find her dog missing and a police officer’s business card in her door.
“No one was ever notified, we had to call to see what was going on,” said Buford.
She says she has no idea why police entered her home.
“My neighbor stated that they had called for the house next to me, because it’s an abandoned home,” added Buford.
East Point Police say they were dispatched to an incorrect address, and the officer heard alarms coming from Buford’s home and went to check.
Buford says that can’t be true, as she gets notifications on her phone when the alarm goes off, and it matches when the officer entered her home according to the police report.
“My alarm wasn’t triggered until someone came into my home,” Buford said.
Regardless, her door happened to be unlocked, and the officer went inside.
She thinks this scared off her dog, Beans.
“When he opened our door, because he was, I guess, checking the area, our dog ran out,” Buford added.
Police say they looked for Beans but couldn’t find him.
A Deputy Chief with the department would only say the officer is being reprimanded and corrective measures were taken.
“This is pure negligence,” said Buford, “You should have hopped in your patrol car and went looking for my dog.”
Buford and her wife have been posting on social media, hanging flyers, and checking animal shelters daily.
“We’re the ones that are not sleeping at night,” Buford said.
She says they’re offering a reward to anyone who brings him home.
“If anybody has our son, I know he’s cute, and I know he’s lovable, and you may want to keep him, but I’m begging you, for my wife’s sake, and mine, please bring him home,” Buford added.
Buford says Beans does not have a microchip, but she plans on getting him one as soon as she finds him.
This is a good reminder if you’re a pet owner to get your dog microchipped.
East Point police add that they have notified officers to be on the lookout, they also posted about this on their social media pages.