Treypock the feist dog and Kit the Labrador retriever are back home after the vehicle they were riding in was stolen in Jackson on Dec. 1.
The story begins when their owner, Kelley Williams, picked up the two dogs from Briarwood Animal Hospital and placed them in the camper attached to his white F-150 pickup.
Williams decided to take care of a quick errand and stop by Revell Ace Hardware at Deville Plaza Shopping center to buy Christmas lights.
Planning to dash in and out of the store, he didn't give it a thought when he left the ignition key fob in the truck's glove box and failed to lock the door.
After being in the store for just nine minutes, Williams walked out to find his truck missing. His initial thought concerned his truck:
“How stupid can you be to go off and leave it unlocked?”
Then he remembered his two dogs were the camper attached to the truck. Each one was wearing a collar with contact information on it.
Amazingly, a woman who works for Williams happened to spot Treypock trotting along Livingston Road in west Jackson, not far from Bully’s Soul Food Restaurant.
“Because she knew him and he knew her, he came to her,” Williams said, noting that Treypock probably wouldn’t have gone near someone he didn’t know.
Kit, who has the laidback, friendly personality that labs are known for, was found near Lake Hico, which is off West Northside Drive.
Someone recognized Kit from a flier that several dog lovers had posted. Williams’ son, George, picked up Kit and took her home.
Local television stations and posts on the Nextdoor social media community were helpful, said Williams, who has loved dogs since he was just a boy and figures he has had 15 to 20 as pets in his lifetime.
“I can’t tell you how many people have texted and called me to say they’re happy the dogs are home,” he said.
Williams's truck has not been recovered, but despite that he praised the Jackson Police Department for the help received.
"They come in for a lot of criticism but in this case they were cooperative," he said.
