When Rip, a 6-month-old Pryedoodle (Pyrenees/poodle mix) disappeared, his family was distraught. Rip (aka Rippies) was a sweet, loyal family dog who also served as their child's therapy pet. Now his owners feared he might be in danger.

"I pulled in and Eric's like, 'He's gone. He's vanished," Rip’s owner, Cynthia Aman, told Delaware's WDEL. "I was like, 'What do you mean, he's vanished?' And he's like, 'I can't find him anywhere.' He had never, ever, ever had done that before."

The following days involved a neighborhood-wide search for the missing dog, while Aman broadcast Rip's sudden disappearance on social media. Within days, the Delaware woman got a very surprising call.

"She said, 'I don't want to get your hopes up, but I think I have your dog,” Aman told the station, recalling her shock at hearing Rip had been found in New Jersey. “I was just I was completely dumbstruck,” she said. “I was like, 'Pennsville, New Jersey? What do you mean?'"

Apparently, the caller had seen a Rip being dumped from an SUV across state lines in Pennsville, New Jersey, which is about 20 miles (and across the river) from where Rip's home in Hockessin, Delaware. Correctly suspecting that something was wrong, two people had rushed to rescue the dumped dog while a third person recorded the SUV’s license plate number.

But here’s where this disturbing tale takes an even darker turn. The SUV was registered to Aman’s Delaware neighbor, who may have stolen the family dog to get revenge following a property dispute. According to reports, this neighbor, Cynthia Yalisove, has since been charged with theft.

"This is awful. You can't just take a family pet--somebody's animal--and dump him like that, and then just think that that's okay," Aman told the station, which also reported Rip's dognapping has left his family planning a move to Montana.

"I don't know the motive; I don't understand if you've been holding a grudge for this property line dispute, this is insane," Rip's owner told WDEL. "I don't understand why you would take it to this level. I just don't understand. I have no words. Honestly, I'm shocked."

What do you think about this story? What would you do?