A judge ruled on Dec. 15 that a man accused of stealing a valuable dog from a vacationing family in Pacific Beach should stand trial for the felony offense of grand theft dog.

Hannah McGuire, who lives in Utah, testified remotely that their Goldendoodle dog, Chancho, was taken out of his crate on Aug. 1 while the family was sleeping in a nearby tent at the Campland on the Bay in Pacific Beach.

McGuire said she and her husband purchased the dog for $2,000 from a family of canine breeders in Utah in August 2021, for them and their 8-year-old son.

Mini Goldendoodles are a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle, and that name for them was coined in the 1990s, according to petkeen.com. They are valued between $1,600 to $4,000, and the felony charge is because it is theft over $950.

Johnny Dwight Smith, 40, of National City, is accused of the lone charge and is believed to be the man on surveillance video footage at 2:30 a.m. leading the same dog on a leash away from the park.

The surveillance footage was shown and testimony was heard by San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Gallagher in the preliminary hearing.

McGuire said they posted flyers with Chancho’s photos on them, and she said they “spent the rest of our vacation looking for Chancho.”

She said a man called, saying, “I think I may have purchased your dog.” McGuire said she asked him to send photos of the dog, and she said “I felt 100% sure it was my dog.”

“He explained to me ‘I bought the dog two weeks ago,'” said McGuire, but she added that couldn’t be correct because that was before he was stolen.

“He said he purchased the dog in a park,” said McGuire, who quoted him as saying, “I purchased this dog for my mother-in-law from a Mexican man.”

McGuire said the man twice denied her stealing the dog.

She offered to reimburse him, and he asked about the reward the family was offering. She said she had a friend in San Diego and offered to have the friend meet him at a gas station in National City and make the exchange.

“My suspicions were that he stole the dog,” said McGuire to a question by Deputy District Attorney Alexander Tracosas.

McGuire said she phoned San Diego Police Detective George Nicholes about the call and he agreed to have officers with the man whose name was Johnny.

Nicholes identified Smith in court as the man who had the dog and he was arrested by officers for grand theft. Smith told him he purchased the dog for $500 from a Mexican man at the beach, but “was not familiar with the area.”

Smith’s attorney and Tracosas submitted the matter to Gallagher without argument and he ordered Smith to be held to answer on the charge.

Smith has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $20,000 bond. He was ordered to appear on Jan. 19 to set a trial date.

McGuire said the family drove back down to San Diego to get Chancho back and he was released to them at a police station.

“It was an overwhelming joy to get the dog back. It was quite a relief to have him and that he was safe,” said McGuire. “It was really nice.”

KFMB-TV Channel 8 broadcast a video of the reunion, with the excited dog licking everyone, exchanging kisses, and jumping up and down on them.