Share and Follow
In a distressing turn of events, a U.S. Airman stationed in Japan has found himself embroiled in an unexpected crisis. Andrew Beckham, who entrusted his home and beloved pet to a house sitter during his deployment, now faces the harrowing uncertainty of his dog Maverick and his car being stolen.
Maverick, an 11-year-old Siberian husky, was last seen at Beckham’s residence in Aurora, Colorado. The trusted companion was allegedly taken by the house sitter, who reportedly experienced a “mental break” before disappearing. According to Beckham, this individual was responsible for caring for his home, but instead absconded with both the dog and Beckham’s 2014 Subaru Forester.
Beckham has taken to Facebook to appeal for help, sharing a Nest alert on April 3 that details the troubling situation. “I am looking for this person,” Beckham stated in the post. “He has stopped all contact and taken Maverick and my vehicle.” Alongside his post, Beckham included an image of the suspect and noted that surveillance footage captured the moment the sitter drove away, dog and car in tow.
The airman expressed concern over the house sitter’s mental state, describing the individual as experiencing paranoia and fleeing without any means of communication. The plea for assistance is not only a bid to recover his cherished pet and property, but also a cry for understanding in a situation clouded by unforeseen mental health challenges.
“(The house sitter) is having a mental break of paranoia and has run away with my car and dog 4 days ago with no contact and no phone,” Beckham wrote on Facebook.
The frustrated dog owner claims he hired the man off Trusted House Sitters — which connects pet owners with suitable sitters — and has reached out to the company asking for help locating him and his dog.
“He has not been found and he has my dog,” Beckham wrote.
Doorbell camera footage captured the nighttime dog heist as the man guided the dog out the front door and into the driveway, according to an image obtained by Fox 31 Denver.
“It was hard to see on my camera because he was taking Maverick out at night and then going in the car without telling me where he was going,” Beckham told the outlet.
Beckham revealed he allowed the worker to stay at his house during his deployment.
An hour before vanishing, the man allegedly called 911, claiming someone was trying to break into the home.
“He seemed scared of something. I don’t know what, but he seemed really scared,” Beckham said.
Maverick weighs approximately 60 pounds, has a missing toe on his front left paw, has mild arthritis and has one blue eye and one brown eye, according to a missing dog poster shared by Beckham.
“I feel like I’ve lost a part of home. Like there’s a hole in my chest where he should be. Maverick has been with me through deployments, through long days, through lonely nights. Losing him, it’s just heartbreaking,” he told the outlet.
The pooch is microchipped and is listed on several lost pet sites.
Beckham warned people to “not chase, call or whistle as this may cause them to run in fear and into danger.”
Neighbors have joined in the search for Maverick dog and his alleged abductor, driving around the Colorado city looking for Beckham’s missing car, as other volunteers printed out missing posters and plastered them around the neighborhood.
“I’m a dog person. My husband is Air Force. So those two items just told me I needed to do something,” Beckham’s neighbor Carla Wise told Fox Denver. “I drove to the airport, looked at two different, both the west and east parking garages, drove each one for about an hour this morning to see if I could help find the car… but the dog, that’s the main thing.”
“He’s out there. We’re going to get him. We’re going to find him,” she added.