Pinky is a 1.5-year-old, black and tan pinscher who mysteriously disappeared from his owner’s home in Cartagena, Colombia. The pet was first stolen, then lost, later rescued by a Good Samaritan and returned to a false owner, who then sold Pinky to new owners. Fortunately, Pinky ended back in the arm’s of his true owner all thanks to a newspaper classified ad.
Edilberto Luis Ariza is the Good Samaritan who rescued Pinky off the streets of Cartagena. Ariza who works as a motorcyclist taxi cab was approached by a man on Sept. 18, 2013. The man hired Ariza to drive him around town while attempting to capture Pinky who was running loose.
The two rode on the motorcycle for quite some time but were unable to capture the dog. The men stopped chasing Pinky and parted ways, but minutes later Ariza was able to locate Pinky and safely capture him.
Ariza came back to the same location where he left the man. He wanted to return the dog but the man was nowhere to be found. At that moment Ariza realized his motorcycle passenger never returned the safety helmet Ariza gave him to wear during the motorcycle ride.
Because Ariza needed the helmet to continue working he decided to head over to the local newspaper, El Universal, and place an ad to locate this man and exchange the dog for his helmet.
The ad was shared on the newspaper’s Facebook page more than 250 times and the next day Ariza received a phone call from the man he helped the previous morning.
Simultaneously, 15-year-old Leidy Alexandra Baldión saw Pinky on the newspaper’s Facebook page and recognized the dog. Baldión was Pinky’s true owner. The dog had been taken from her house just two days earlier.
Baldión and her mother contacted Ariza, but he was confused since two different families were claiming the canine.
“I said I would return the dog to whoever would bring back my helmet,” said Ariza. “My helmet was the only proof I had to return the dog to whoever was with me looking for the dog on that morning.”
Due to the exchange, Pinky ended up in the hands of a false owner, but the Baldión family didn’t give up. The asked Ariza to meet them so they could proof Pinky was truly their pet.
When Ariza met the Baldións and learned the true story he knew he had to help them find Pinky. Ariza agreed to take them to the house where the exchange had happened.
When they arrived there, they didn’t find the man Ariza had returned Pinky to, but they did find Pinky tied inside the house. The canine exploded with emotions when he recognized his original owners.
Ariza spoke with the homeowners who had bought Pinky off the man. After learning the dog’s story, the new owners agreed to return Pinky to the Baldións.
The Baldións might never find Pinky’s thief, and the crook might never pay for the crime he committed, but the Baldións are happy to know good-hearted people like Ariza and Pinky’s buyers were willing to do the right thing to reunite the little dog with his true loving owners.
