A Florida family searching for their missing dog found a Facebook post offering a possible way to bring Teddy home. Their effort to retrieve him ended with a complaint that the person who had found him wanted $1,000 before handing him over.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrested Christina Spence Reid on October 10, 2026, on a grand theft charge, WESH reported. The station’s report includes body-camera footage of deputies questioning her about the money and placing her under arrest.
Teddy had escaped from his home the previous day. His owner and her daughter contacted Spence Reid through social media after spotting her post on a Facebook page for found dogs.
The exchange included a photograph of Spence Reid with Teddy, according to WKMG’s account of the sheriff’s release. The station identified her as 37 and reported that the photograph was sent to the owner.
A Planned Reunion
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The family’s account, detailed in the arrest affidavit quoted in the report, described a phone call in which Spence Reid demanded payment for Teddy’s return. After further discussion, they arranged to meet her.
At that meeting, the family said, she refused to return Teddy without the money and left. The owner then used Facebook Messenger to ask when she would bring the dog back. The reply again asked when the money would be available.
The family contacted the sheriff’s office for help. Deputies spoke with Spence Reid around 9 p.m. on October 10.
A Different Explanation
During the recorded exchange, a deputy asked Spence Reid whether the Facebook profile was hers and whether she had been communicating with Teddy’s owners. She answered yes to both questions.
She explained that she had requested money as proof that the family owned Teddy. Asked about seeking payment to return him, she responded: “I wasn’t trying to get money from them to get the dog, sir.”
The deputy pressed her about why she had asked for $1,000. The footage also includes a deputy directing her to turn around and put her hands behind her back as he announced the theft arrest.
WKMG reported that deputies found Teddy at her home and that she was released the next day on a $2,500 bond. WESH reported that Teddy was returned to his owners.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.