Dog, car stolen after woman stops to boost trio's ride

Mary Perron tried to be a good Samaritan, stopping to help a group of people who were having car problems, but ended up stranded in a Winnipeg parking lot after her vehicle was stolen.

But it's not the car that she's worried about, it's her two-year-old dog Mikki, who was inside.

"I'm just devastated. I'm worried they took the car and got rid of her," Perron, 64, said, trying to speak clearly but pausing to catch her breath from sobs.

"It's so cold out, I'm scared that the dog, that they'd let her out on a highway or something and she's freezing. I'm just so worried about the dog, I don't care about the car."

On Thursday evening, Perron was on her way home when she stopped in at Best Buy on Regent Avenue. She noticed three people — two men and a woman — pushing a car and stopped to see if she could help in any way.

They asked for a boost for their battery so Perron pulled up and got out her cables. The boost didn't work and as they kept trying, another man came up and suggested the problem was with the vehicle's starter, not the battery.

The three people then asked Perron if she could drive them to Kildonan Place mall, across Regent Avenue.

"I told them yes, I could, if I could just run into Best Buy for a second," she said, adding she told them to wait inside her car.

"Stupid me, I left the car running so they could stay warm. I turned the heat up because they told me they were freezing."

Perron was in Best Buy for maybe five minutes and when she came out, the car, Mikki and the three people were gone.

"At first I thought that maybe they just moved it, but no, it was gone," she said. "So I called the police."

While she was on the phone, Perron walked to Kildonan Place, hoping to spot the car and find Mikki.

"But they were not there," she said, crying. "Then I found out from police that the vehicle [the three people] were pushing was a stolen car also."

Perron has posted images of Mikki on social media and has also contacted the Humane Society in case Mikki shows up there. The Winnipeg Police Service has also Tweeted about the incident and posted images.

Perron said Mikki is a border collie and shepherd mix.

"She's black, she has a white chest area. She's very pretty — and she's tiny, maybe 25 pounds," Perron said. "She's a very happy dog. She loves everybody."

When she was taken, Mikki was wearing a jacket with a black outside and red inside.

The stolen vehicle is a silver 2003 Toyota Corolla, four-door with licence plate number AKW308.