Woman Offers $20k Reward for Stolen Service Dog: ‘That Dog is Basically My Life’

A woman visiting Tempe, Arizona, has been left heartbroken after she said she left her service dog alone in their hotel room for five minutes, only to find her missing when she returned.

Andrea Albornoz said that she had left her service dog, Lani, in her room in the DoubleTree hotel for five minutes to get some coffee from the lobby, as reported by FOX10. When she returned, she discovered that the door was not latched all the way and Lani was gone.

Albornoz said she searched the hallways and asked other hotel guests and the front desk if they had seen her, but the dog was nowhere to be found.

"It's just been absolutely horrendous because I've been looking for her on every platform on the internet. (I’ve looked) on Facebook, Craigslist to see if anybody is trying to make a profit out of her," Albornoz told the news outlet.

Lani is a seizure-alert service dog trained to recognize Albornoz’s symptoms. "That dog is basically my life," she told the station. “She’s trained to be by my side in order for me to be safe.”

It has now been five days since Lani was last seen, and Albornoz is offering a $20,000 reward for the safe return of her beloved service dog. "I just hope that whoever has my dog understands this dog is worth more than money."

Anyone with information about Lani is asked to call Tempe Police or to reach out directly to Albornoz at (310) 386-5060.