A flyer posted after Mochi the dog was stolen from her home in San Francisco. (Courtesy: David Baker) A flyer posted after Mochi the dog was stolen from her home in San Francisco. (Courtesy: David Baker)

UPDATE: Mochi’s Been Found, Dognapper Busted! (Via CBS Sister Station Live105.com)

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — When a thief stole a man’s dog Mochi along with a laptop and bicycles, the owner took to social media and recruited hundreds of people to help track her down, but none more connected than Green Day’s front man Billie Joe Armstrong.

“To me it’s a kidnapping, that was my child, and it was taken away from my house,” said David Baker.

It began with a few tweets and Instagrams, and paper fliers, and then an outpouring of support from skaters, who wrote, “Skateboarders can do anything, let’s help.” From there, Armstrong (who also lives in the East Bay) found it, and re-posted it, and then an army of search crews arrived.

Armstrong–Green Day’s lead singer–has 434,000 Instagram followers who saw the plight. The post got over 28,000 likes immediately. Some came from as far as Berkeley to help.

“I live out in Berkeley and I BARTed out to the city, and now I’m cruising around with a couple of people, zig-zagging all through below Market,” said Arman Alexander.

The search also got a bump from another well-known musician, Matt Nathanson, who gave a heads up to his 84,000 Twitter followers.

heartbreaking. davidbaker had his dog stolen from his apartment here in san francisco. he is posting… http://t.co/hWml8W5V2O — matt nathanson (@mattnathanson) January 12, 2015

Baker said she’s a very approachable dog, “A lot of people think pit bulls are mean, but all she knew was love. She’s just a very sweet dog. She’s super loving.”



Surveillance cameras captured images of a woman leaving David Baker and his girlfriend Cassandra Niki’s apartment on Gilbert Street after breaking in, and leashing up their dog Mochi, a pit bull mix on Sunday.

This story has a happy ending. Mochi and owner have reunited, and the dognapper has been found, and the property seized.

http://instagram.com/p/xyC8ieC5zC/

UPDATE: Mochi’s Been Found, Dognapper Busted!