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Salem woman asks community for help finding dog taken in front of Safeway

A missing dog sign showing a $100 reward for Toki’s return. (Courtesy/Carole Astley)

A Salem woman is asking for help from the community to find her senior dog after he was taken from the front of a Safeway on Sunday.

Three days after Amelia Miller moved to southeast Salem, she made a slipknot with the end of her emotional support dog’s leash, looped it over a metal chair and around a pipe in front of Safeway on Southeast Commercial Street, Miller wrote in an email to Salem Reporter.

She said she went in the store for a sandwich, drink and water bowl after their walk and returned to find her dog was gone.

“There’s no way it could have come off on its own,” she said. “Someone took him.”

The dog, named Toki, is an 11-year-old, 7-pound black short-haired chihuahua mix “with an old man, gray face,” Miller said. He was wearing a gray collar with skull and cross bones on it and a black, bone-shaped tag that reads “Toki Wartooth” and includes Miller’s phone numbers.

“I need my friend, he means everything to me. He has been my reason to keep going in my times of great sorrow and despair,” she said.

Miller said she is offering $100 for Toki’s safe return. She has contacted the Salem Police Department and Marion County Dog Shelter, posted on Facebook and Nextdoor, and put up reward posters at Safeway and along Southeast Commercial Street.

She asked anyone who sees him to rescue him and contact her at 971-719-9292 and Salem police, with his case number being 21-21338. She said Toki is an old dog that suffers from physical pain. If anyone tries to pick him up, she said he’ll likely cry and try to run away.

“I’m afraid he’s scared and confused,” she said. “He’s a sensitive guy and easily gets cold. I pray he is safe and warm and will be returned to me, unharmed.”

(Courtesy/Amelia Miller)

Amelia Miller said her dog, Toki, was taken Sunday from the front of Safeway on Southeast Commercial Street. (Courtesy/Amelia Miller)

(Courtesy/Amelia Miller)

-Ardeshir Tabrizian