Odds are good you've had a package delivered by Amazon sometime this month. It's a service many of us rely on. But a Parker County family says during their last delivery, the drivers picked up something that was a lot more valuable than what they dropped off.
RJ the dachshund is part of the family.
"He was big enough to fit in the palm of my hand when I bought him," said RJ’s owner Anthony Phillips.
He's a country dog who's had the run of the place at his home outside Weatherford, until someone scooped him out of the front yard.
"RJ was walking around in this area and they had pulled in and stopped right here and this is where they picked him up," said Phillips.
Some yard workers across the street noticed a white van pull up.
"They actually asked the workers who the dog belonged to and they told them us that it was our dog," Phillips said.
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But they didn't return him, and it didn't take long for Phillips to realize they were Amazon delivery drivers, bringing a package for his mom.
"So they stole my dog, delivered the package and then left," he said.
Phillips started asking around who else had taken in deliveries and soon found a neighbor with doorbell video of the suspects. Amazon confirmed their names.
"That morning they had posted RJ for sale on Craigslist for $100," said Phillips.
Parker County Sheriff's deputies wound up arresting one of the delivery drivers, 22-year-old Mycah Wade.
"He got her to confess to all of it and he ended up retrieving RJ for me," Phillips said of the Parker County investigator who worked the case.
It was a sweet reunion.
"We're glad to have him home," Phillips said.
Now he hopes the ordeal will lead to changes for a company so many of us invite to the front door, without a second thought.
"I hope Amazon takes a better look at who they're letting represent them as a company and deliver their packages," said Phillips.
Amazon released the following statement Monday:
"This does not reflect the high standards we have for delivery service partners. We're glad the customer has been reunited with their pet, and we have been in touch with them to make it right. We take these matters seriously and these individuals are no longer delivering amazon packages."
