Man was walking his dog when driver jumped out of car and snatched it, Oklahoma cops say

A man was on a walk with his dogs in an Oklahoma neighborhood when he spotted a “suspicious vehicle” as the driver made a U-turn and drove toward him, authorities said.

The driver jumped out of the car on Saturday, Dec. 10 and told the dog owner that one of the dogs was actually his, according to a Dec. 17 news release from the Tulsa Police Department. The man claimed he previously paid $5,000 for the dog.

The man grabbed the dog — her name is “Tasha Blue” — “and a shoving match ensued,” police said.

“The suspect pulled hard enough on the dog that the leash broke,” police said, then “the suspect pulled the dog to his vehicle by the collar and left the area in a gray, Chevy Malibu.”

A witness followed the car to get its tag number, police said, and the dog owner provided photos of “Tasha Blue” to the Riverside Street Crimes Unit.

The Malibu was added to the department’s “Flock hotlist,” according to the news release. Flock Cameras capture license plate numbers and alert cops to flagged vehicles, KOTV reported.

One week after the dog was stolen, a Flock Camera captured the man’s vehicle, police said. Officers responded and found the man and “Tasha Blue” in the car.

The man was booked into jail on a robbery charge, authorities said, and “Tasha was very excited to be returned to her owners.”