This was quite the story of spontaneous volunteer community involvement.

Let’s set the stage;

It was 6:43 pm local time on July 11th, 2021 when Tara Lovesee posted this;

HELP! My shihtzu got out. She just had surgery so does not have her collar on as it aggravates her incision. Her incision wrap was taken off to get air to it just before she snuck away. She needs her medicine She got out at auto plaza on Ave I. Please call me at 308-641-7026. She is very loved!

We noticed that Joe Hessler was frantically looking for a little dog that was picked up off the road by his car dealership. The public didn’t get all the details immediately, but the general picture had been painted; Joe was missing a dog and he was offering $2,000 for her return. We did our part and shared it everywhere including the Scotts Bluff County Scanner fb page, which brought in a very loyal group committed to justice.

Joe gathered and posted video stillshots that was only able to determine the color, make and model of the car. There was indication of more than one person in the car that picked her up but no license plate or other identifying info.

That didn’t matter. The community sprang into action with limited information. I got the feeling that people were not doing it for the money either, as that would prove true in the end, but keep reading…

This is Tara’s plea for help on day 2;

HELP!!! I am reposting from yesterday! My lil shihtzu got out! We have video of this person & his car picking her up. We are grateful that he saved her from traffic but we want her home! If anyone knows who this may be; please please have him call me at 308-641-7026. She got out at auto plaza on Ave I. She is only 1.5 weeks out from surgery to remove a tumor under her ear so she didn’t have her collar on . She needs her meds & we are heart broken! Please bring her home video link below

We are still looking for Maeve. We continue to look for this car (we think it’s a Saturn aura with black wheels/rims). We have a $2000 reward for her. We have been been working with people to access video footage to obtain a plate #. She has not had her medication since Sunday morning. We do not want the person who rescued her from traffic to be afraid to contact us. We just want her home no questions asked.

Tara from July 13

Then finally 11:07 pm on Wednesday, Joe posted this… (I will do my best to translate this in the next paragraph).

Ok everyone …. First i want to thank all of you helping, very amazing Now i will tell you who the real heroes are today !! Mike Lenhart and Mike Soundsleeper Here is the facts !! Mike lenhart and his family was passing through Bridgeport and seen the car and turned and got a plate number. Mike soundsleeper and i were following another call and Lenhart call and said get to hwy 92 they are heading west. Im hauling by now and mike soundsleeper is behind be somewhere so i finely ipassed it and turned around and that bitch opened up the pedal obviously he seen me !! Got him pulled over after a easy 100 mile hour chase , he knew and said i just found out today about this and we hv her safe in Kimball … soon im standing there and i got hit from behind by another vehicle this dude said man i dont hv a license im going , i said no you not mike soundsleeper will be here in a second and he will follow you 2 kimball.. he said i cant hold him there and jumped into is car and boogied like the bitch he is, me i couldnt do nothing because i hv 3 people standing there that would be a witness ,, shit !!! he fled but by then soundsleeper is heading to kimball . Im going 2 shorten this up . The funny thing is after i pulled him over the phone started ringing to get the 2000 , do u find that strange i find him but they all want paid? Mike soundsleeper met them in Kimball and they held her saying we want the money lol for real bitches ..Mike grabbed her annd pretty much said fuck you! Ok they kept hounding 3 people about the money , but not me lol So this is a criminal case now and the state patrol that did my accident had to put down why i was there for this criminal case now pending ! Funny how we found them, but people out of nowhere now tell us they know bullshit, huge setup . ok that enough, this is a criminal case now but my friends needed to Know who deserves credit and they wont even take the $ 2000 ..i love you guys i didnt check my spelling , dont care have a great evening

So here is my intrepetation: Lenhart saw the car and called Hessler. Joe Hessler and Mike Soundsleeper started a chase in their own vehicles. The perps tried to get away, but Hessler pulled him over after about 100 miles. Soundsleeper heads to Kimball where they believed Maeve was. Hessler was then rear-ended and the perps ran. When Mike Soundsleeper met the perps in Kimball, they wanted the reward money. Soundsleeper told them it’s not happening, took the dog and left. It is now a criminal case.