Family offering reward after thieves stole their dog and Christmas presents

A Dallas family is hoping for a Christmas miracle after thieves ransacked their home and took their beloved dog.

Family members say the heartless crime has left them heartbroken. They'd grown quite attached to Smokey and say their Christmas won't be the same without him.

10-year-old Thalia Alvarado says she misses the 60-pound American Pocket Bully, a gift for her 9th birthday.

"Everyone in our family wants him back more than anything in the house."

Smokey was stolen right out from under them Friday, along with all the gifts from under the tree.

Diana Alvarado says she returned form work that afternoon to find the house unusually quiet.

"They all started screaming and crying and running out the back door hoping he was in the backyard but he was gone," She said. "I was scared because you know I had the girls with me so I was thinking are they still here or are they gone."

She felt a rush of cold air as she walked into her bedroom. A window behind an armoire was pried open, the heavy piece of furniture pushed out of the way.

"You just feel invaded, like you don't feel safe," said Alvarado.

Alvarado says the thief or thieves likely parked in the back alley, crawled through the window, then ransacked the house, also stealing cherished pieces of jewelry like their wedding bands.

A neighbor's surveillance camera captured grainy images of an unfamiliar maroon Chevy Equinox at Alvarado's home the day of the break-in. A man in a black hooded jacket walks up to her door, hangs around for a bit, then appears to leave.

"He's grown with us and we've grown with him that's our girls dog," said Alvarado." "It's heartbreaking because we want Smokey and we want him home for Christmas."

The family is offering up to $1500 for Smokey's safe return. The family put up $500 of their own money. Their generous neighbors and friends kicked in the rest.