Eugene police investigate theft of elderly woman’s dog after group returns to take border collie while she was sleeping

Eugene, OR – The Eugene Police Department is investigating the theft of a companion animal after a 73-year-old woman reported her dog missing from downtown Eugene in September.

Police said the woman contacted officers at the Downtown Public Safety Station around 2:15 a.m. on September 23 after discovering that her dog, Beau, was gone. She told police she had been sleeping near the corner of West Broadway and Olive Street with the dog beside her.

Surveillance video showed Beau wandering away around 12:30 a.m. A group of people later brought the dog back on his leash and tied him up near the woman while she was still asleep. Approximately 45 minutes later, the group returned, untied the leash and left with the dog, according to police.

Investigators are treating the case as first-degree theft because Beau is a companion animal.

Beau is a two-year-old, tri-color purebred border collie. He was last seen wearing a black coat with reflective stripes and a green leash with tags and an E-tag. Police said he is not neutered and responds to his name.

Anyone who has information about the incident or has seen Beau since September 23 is asked to call Eugene police at 541-682-5111, the non-emergency number, and reference case 26-15557.

Police also noted that the woman had been assaulted in downtown Eugene on September 13. In that earlier incident, an unhoused man allegedly rode his bicycle into her repeatedly while she was sitting in Kesey Square with her dog.