TRUCKEE, CA (KTXL/CNN) - A dog is back with his family after being carjacked and abandoned.
A very stressful three-day ordeal began Saturday night when Carolyn Hamilton and her husband were getting ready to go out, bringing along their beloved 6-year-old family dog Albus.
"We just put him in the truck in our driveway, came back in to say goodbye, and literally turned around and the truck was gone," Hamilton said.
Truckee police said surveillance video shows two men stealing items from a car just before the Hamiltons' car was stolen with Albus inside.
"We instantly called 911, and Truckee Police saturated the area," Hamilton said. "Truckee Police were dedicated to finding this dog."
Police caught up with the truck in downtown Truckee but the thieves took off eastbound on Interstate 80.
The California Highway Patrol joined the pursuit all the way to Reno, NV, where the thieves exited.
Officers called off the chase when they deemed it too dangerous to continue.
The Hamiltons put up fliers. They, the police and many volunteers searched for three days.
"There was some hope in it and some urgency, and I think that's a magical equation," Hamilton said.
Tuesday night, the vehicle was found abandoned in a southeast Reno neighborhood with Albus inside.
Truckee police said they believe he was in that car the entire time. "Windows up, three days," Hamilton said.
Albus was weak and dehydrated, but otherwise healthy.
Hamilton said she will never forget that happy phone call from police: "Immediately, every emotion ran through us."
Not knowing where Albus was for three days, imagining he might be suffering, Hamilton said the whole experience very eye-opening for her family.
"This is not a tragedy in the proportion of what people experience all around the world and in our community every day," she said.
She said they thought a lot about people who lost relatives and pets in the recent California wildfires.
"We tried to always compare our grief to the larger grief. And I think what happened is that we were able to just be a little more compassionate for people who experience loss," Hamilton said.
The Hamiltons have deep appreciation for their community and their police who didn't give up.
The Truckee Police Departament shared this photo on Facebook of officers paying the Hamiltons a Wednesday afternoon visit after Albus came back from the vet "and they had a tenderness about them that you don't attach to police officers, but we should from now on."
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