Officials: Missing dog was dyed to deceive

Coco, a reddish-brown pit bull with white markings, went missing from her Southern California home on Thanksgiving.

Nearly a month later, she was found and reunited with her owners — but she was a different color.

Riverside County animal services officials made the match when they scanned a stray, black dog for an implanted microchip and found she was listed as an 8-month-old reddish-brown pit bull adopted in October from a San Jacinto shelter.

She actually recognized me when I went in there to verify it was her,' owner Heather Lowery told NBC Los Angeles.

'She shakes her whole body as if she were Pluto basically, and she did it again today. She jumped right on (me) and took pictures with me.'

Officials believe Coco was stolen and dyed in an act of deception to make it harder for Lowry to find her, said Riverside County Field and Shelter Deputy Director Frank Corvino.

Officials believe the dog escaped from the thief's property.

'The dye job is not very good,' Corvino said. 'But it would work if someone's looking for their missing, reddish-brown dog.'

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