Bella, the yellow lab reported stolen from the Derby Home Depot parking lot last month was never stolen, the dog’s owner told the Valley Indy Wednesday.
“My wife had given her away, unbeknownst to me,” William Novotny said.
Now Derby police are investigating whether criminal charges will be filed. Those charges could include reporting a false incident and interfering with an investigation.
Background
The Novotny family of Stratford said Bella, their 7‑year-old yellow lab, was stolen from the family’s car while parked at the Home Depot on Main Street March 11.
The family posted information about the alleged theft on “See, Click, Fix“ and the Valley Indy first reported the allegations March 13.
Novotny told the Valley Indy at the time that his wife had gone into Home Depot for about 10 minutes to make a purchase. When she returned, the dog was gone, but the animal’s chain collar had been neatly left behind.
The owners worked tirelessly on social media to locate the dog. They created a Facebook page called “Bring Bella Home,” where Bella’s story was shared thousands of times.
The family placed “missing” fliers throughout the area and offered a reward for information leading to the dog’s return.
On March 28, the family reported that Bella had been safely returned. The dog was allegedly found wandering the Interstate 84 area in the Hartford area by a family who wished to remain anonymous, Novotny told the Valley Indy last month.
That wasn’t true.
A Simsbury family claimed they got Bella off Craigslist.
Novotny said his family had recently moved to a condo from a single-family home. His wife has some health problems and felt the family could no longer properly care for Bella.
Novotny said his wife knew he would oppose giving the animal away — so she secretly placed an ad on Craigslist and offered the dog for free.
She then concocted the Home Depot story as a cover, he said.
Once he found out, he contacted the family who had Bella and said he gave them $750 for the dog’s return.
“Frankly, this has been a nightmare for me,” he said.
Derby police wouldn’t go into the details of the case Tuesday morning, but confirmed an investigation is underway.
“The Derby Police Department is presently investigating the veracity of this complaint,” Lt. Justin Stanko said. “An arrest warrant is expected.”
Novotny said the family talked to police Tuesday and are fully cooperating. He said the case was closed, as far as he knew.
Bella, meanwhile, is still with the family and doing fine, Novotny said.
