Newly homeless man reunited with dog snatched from him on NYC subway: ‘He's all I have'

New York Post

2 days ago

He got his Roc back.
A newly homeless New Yorker was filmed having an emotional reunion with his best friend, his pet dog Roc, four days after he was stolen from beside him as he napped on a subway.
'I'm right here — come here, baby,' Charles Williams, 45, told his American Bully puppy as PIX11 News caught their reunion Thursday outside the 44th Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx. 'Who's my Roc?'
6 An emotional NY homeless man has been reunited with his stolen dog after a heartless straphanger snatched the pup from him while he was sleeping on a subway train in The Bronx.
PIX11 News / YouTube
Williams' 'very loving dog' was stolen from him as he slept on a northbound D train heading into the Norwood-205th St. station on Sunday morning, he said.
The dog lover said he has been homeless for around a month, and was only sleeping on the train because of his devotion to his dog, who is not allowed to stay with him in shelters.
He feared the worst — until the surprise news that his stolen dog had been dropped off outside the stationhouse just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium.
'I want to cry,' Williams told PIX11 after his reunion. 'I know God is real, because I'm in a big city, and in a big city like New York, you know, you may not find your dog,' he said, assuming he wouldn't get him back.
6 Williams' 'very loving dog' was stolen from him as he slept on a northbound D train heading into the Norwood-205th St. station on Sunday morning, he said.
PIX11 News / YouTube
'He's the only family that I have,' he said. 'He's all I have. He depends on me. I depend on him, and I feel like I let him down,' he said.
'But don't worry, it'll never happen again,' he said, looking at Roc.
Williams told the Daily News he was dozing on the subway to avoid the heat, and 'woke up at 205th Street with just the leash in my hand.'
6 Williams's stolen dog had been dropped off outside the stationhouse just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium, according to reports.
NYPD News
6 'He's the only family that I have,' Williams said. 'He's all I have. He depends on me. I depend on him, and I feel like I let him down,' he said.
PIX11 News / YouTube
Only after being shown surveillance footage of the cruel dognapper did he realize that it was a man he had noticed earlier sitting across from him.
'Roc was sitting under me. [The thief] was looking at him, you know, making little eyes at him. I paid no attention,' he said.
The thief remained on the loose early Friday — and it's not clear if he was the person who dropped Roc outside the stationhouse.
6 The NYPD has shared an image of the suspect, a man in his 20s with medium-length braids, all-black clothing and a black Yankees cap.
DCPI
6 'I want to cry,' Williams told PIX11 after his reunion. 'I know God is real, because I'm in a big city, and in a big city like New York, you know, you may not find your dog,' he said, assuming he wouldn't get him back.
PIX11 News / YouTube
'If the person [who] took him decided to bring him back, he did the right thing,' Williams said.
The NYPD has shared an image of the suspect, a man in his 20s with medium-length braids, all-black clothing and a black Yankees cap.