A family’s pet dog which was recently stolen out of his own yard by two young men has been found and is back home.

Tino, a Giant Malamute who belongs to the Tom Morris family of East Lake Drive, was found by Morris on Friday after he received an anonymous tip about where the dog was, he said.

The dog had been stolen by two young men who drove up to the Morris home when no one was there and put the dog into their pickup truck.

A witness later described the truck after Morris called the Putnam Sheriff’s Dept. to report his dog had been stolen.

Heartbroken over losing their beloved pet, the family put out posters with the dog’s picture, hoping someone would call and report finding the dog.

A man phoned Morris on Thursday night saying he had the dog, which he claimed had been dropped off in his neighborhood, and he said he would bring him home, but he did not do so, Morris said. And the search went on.

On Friday, a clerk at a business phoned Morris and said someone who had seen the poster claimed to know where the dog was, and from that information, Morris went to the area of Phifer Mountain.

After a time, Morris found the Blufftop Road, which had been mentioned in the information.

“I drove up there, found the road, and saw Tino chained at a house there,” Morris said.

The resident of that house told Morris the dog had been dropped off somewhere in the area, and also admitted he had phoned the night before and had meant to bring the dog home, but “something had come up,” Morris said.

While at the location where he found his dog, Morris phoned the Putnam Sheriff’s Dept., and they sent Deputy Sam Lee. Now, the case is under investigation by Detective Gary Roach.

“We brought Tino home, and everybody was happy to see him,” Morris said.

The dog is so gentle and friendly that he is loved by all the neighbors, Morris said.

“While he was gone, the neighbors did everything they could to help us find him and even wanted to up the reward,” he said.

“We’re so glad to have him back, and we want the case investigated thoroughly,” he said.