The crime happened at about 9:50 p.m. in an alley near 59th and Troy streets in Gage Park, Chicago police said.
A woman, 26, was in the alley with her 4-year-old dog, an American micro-bully.
A white SUV pulled up, and someone got out and stole the dog, according to Chicago police.
Jazmin Ascencio said she and her dog had been returning to their Chicago Lawn home at the time of the crime.
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"He came out of the car, and he's like give me that (expletive) dog right now. Give me that (expletive) dog or I'm going to shoot you," Ascencio said. "He took Mamas; he got back into his car. And before he pulled off, he's like, 'if you call the police, if you tell anyone, I'm going to come back and shoot you.'"
Since then, Ascencio had been frantically searching for Mamas, reporting the robbery to police, while also printing out flyers and going door to door with neighbors.
The woman said her dog needs medication.
Tuesday morning, Ascencio's outreach paid off, when she got a call from someone claiming the thief had reached out to him.
"They were trying to sell her to this person, but that person told them she didn't have any paperwork. She's just a loose dog he knows nothing of, like I'm not going to take her," Ascencio said.
That same tipster said Mamas was released by the thieves near 69th Street and Maplewood Avenue, just a few miles from where she was stolen. That is where she started concentrating her efforts to bring her dog home.
"She's really sweet. She's so sweet. She's a good girl," Ascencio said.
She was offering a $1,000 cash reward for the safe return of her dog.
Luckily, Mamas has been found safe, ABC7 learned on Tuesday night.
Ascencio told ABC7 that a woman bought the dog from someone, but later saw one of the flyers about Mamas.
The woman then told her boyfriend about the flyers, and they returned Mamas to Ascencio. Ascencio said the couple did not want the reward, but she insisted that they take half, a total of $500.
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