A Las Vegas family returning to Summerlin from California on Friday found that their four-year-old Pomeranian, Linus, was missing. Surveillance footage appears to show a man picking up the dog and walking away with him, according to Jaelle Johnson, who said the disappearance occurred within minutes of the family's arrival.
Johnson told KSNV that the family was in and out of the house when they discovered Linus was missing. The video reportedly shows a man who appeared to chase Linus before scooping him up, and separate audio captured in the footage indicated another delivery was happening six miles away at the time, which is part of why Johnson believes the person responsible may have been a delivery driver passing through the area.
Johnson filed a report with Metro and posted about Linus on multiple online lost-pet sites. She also contacted area veterinarians and shelters in case someone brings the dog in and a microchip scan identifies him. Neighbors had not recognized the dog or the man in the footage, according to the station's report.
Why Recovery Often Comes Down to a Microchip Scan
Johnson said she is now waiting for that exact scenario: someone scanning Linus's chip at a clinic or shelter and flagging him as missing. Local microchipping rules have tightened in recent years across the valley — the City of Las Vegas began requiring all dogs and cats over four months old to be microchipped in August 2024, with violators facing fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail, per the City of Las Vegas. Unincorporated Clark County followed with its own mandatory chipping ordinance in August 2025, backed by $150,000 in county funding to hand out $5 microchips to residents, according to Clark County.
How a Microchip Could Help Reunite Linus
A microchip scan is one documented way a found dog can be matched with an owner. On June 16, 2026, FOX5 Las Vegas reported that The Animal Foundation reunited a local owner with her dog after staff scanned the pet's microchip six years after it went missing. In Linus's case, the currently identified avenues for information or recovery are Johnson's outreach to veterinarians and shelters, online lost-pet postings and the Metro report, with Crime Stoppers listed as the tip line.
A separate Las Vegas-area case involved substantially different circumstances. FOX5 Las Vegas reported that two French Bulldogs, each valued at $2,500, were taken at gunpoint near Centennial Parkway and Loose Road in North Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2024; Linus's reported disappearance in Summerlin involved surveillance footage of a man carrying the dog away and no reported weapon.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555, the station notes. Investigators have not indicated whether they can trace the man through delivery service records, and no valuation has been established for Linus, a detail that would matter under Nevada law.
How Nevada Law Treats a Stolen Dog
Under NRS 205.240, stealing an animal worth under $1,200 is charged as misdemeanor petit larceny carrying up to six months in jail, while an animal valued at $1,200 or more triggers felony grand larceny charges under NRS 205.220, per the Animal Legal & Historical Center. Separately, Nevada Revised Statute 41.740 allows pet owners to recover up to $5,000 in civil damages, including veterinary costs and lost market value, if someone intentionally or recklessly injures or kills a pet.
Linus's disappearance echoes a case Hoodline reported in August, when an elderly Yorkie vanished from a driveway in under 60 seconds before the owner was hit with fraudulent ransom texts. Nationally, an estimated 2 million companion animals are stolen every year, according to the American Kennel Club.
For now, Johnson is holding out hope that a scan of Linus's microchip, a tip to Crime Stoppers, or someone recognizing the footage brings him home.
