San Francisco woman offers $7,000 reward and hires plane in search of stolen dog

SAN FRANCISCO —  A San Francisco woman is offering a $7,000 reward and has hired a plane to fly over the city in the search for her blue-eyed miniature Australian shepherd stolen from outside a grocery store last weekend.

The plane, which cost an additional $1,200, will fly a banner with the website she set up to find her her dog, Jackson, who was stolen Saturday outside a grocery store in the Bernal Heights neighborhood.

Emilie Talermo said Thursday that she has been doing everything she can to find her 5-year-old dog.

“I am just one person, and I really need help getting the word out there,” she said.

Surveillance video from the grocery store shows a man in a hoodie approaching the bench where Jackson was tied up.

Talermo and her friends have distributed thousands of fliers with the photo of the 28-pound dog, who has white, black and gray fur and bright blue eyes.

She set up a website, www.bringjacksonhome.com, where she’s offering a $7,000 reward, “no questions asked,” and she has even opened an account for the sweet-faced dog on Tinder.

“He’s always with me. It’s a very real love,“ Talermo said, her voice breaking. “I just need help finding him.”

The airplane will circle over San Francisco and Oakland for two hours Friday. The plane was set to fly Thursday but had to be rescheduled because of weather.

To help finance her search, Talermo launched a GoFundMe, which has raised more than $7,000 since Tuesday. She plans to donate any extra money to Rocket Dog Rescue or donate all of it if Jackson isn’t found.

Talermo said she got Jackson in New York. They moved to Los Angeles and then to San Francisco.

“Those people I’ve met throughout the years know my love for this dog. I’m just blown away by everyone’s support,” she said.