S.F. tourists search for beloved cat stolen in smash-and-grab car burglary

S.F. tourists search for beloved cat stolen in smash-and-grab car burglary

Cesar Granados, his wife, Karla Cardoso, and their adventurous cat, Minnelusa, ended up enjoying a peaceful Christmastime journey to San Francisco final 7 days until finally the unthinkable took place. They briefly parked their activity utility automobile in a downtown garage and grew to become a person of the hottest victims of the smash-and-seize vehicle burglaries for which the town has turn out to be infamous.

Abruptly, Minnelusa was long gone.

The 3 from Anaheim had invested the afternoon of Dec. 20 trekking by means of Muir Woods and determined to prevent for some refreshments on their way again to their hotel. About 7 p.m., they parked in a city garage at 128 Moulton St. in Cow Hollow and made the decision to leave their 1-12 months-previous tabby cat in her provider in the again seat.

“We weren’t arranging to just take a lot time,” Granados reported.

They place a blanket more than the backpack-type provider to continue to keep her warm, cozy and hidden. Minnelusa, a rescue from Mexico, commonly travels with Granados and Cardoso, and the automobile is wherever she tends to sense the most relaxed, Granados explained.

“She’s our journey companion,” he claimed. “The auto was her favored place due to the fact she could have 100{aa306df364483ed8c06b6842f2b7c3ab56b70d0f5156cbd2df60de6b4288a84f} notice from the two of us alongside one another. She favored the car or truck (about) the house.”

But just after selecting up refreshments and getting a walk about Ghirardelli Sq., the couple returned to their car to come across a window damaged and Minnelusa lacking.

“That’s when we encountered the heartbreaking scene … and we just tried using to compose ourselves,” Granados explained.

Weeks in which hundreds of cars and trucks are damaged into in San Francisco are not unheard of, and the regions all around Ghirardelli Sq., Fisherman’s Wharf, Japantown and Metropolis Corridor are warm places for the crime.

Granados thinks that whoever stole Minnelusa and her carrier ought to have been attempting to swiftly choose the premier product in the vehicle. Other precious possessions these as backpacks, telephone chargers and a digital camera had been left untouched.

Minnelusa, whom Granados described as a sweet and clever cat, is fond of walks on her leash and street excursions. She knows a few methods, like sitting down and presenting her paw on command, he reported.

“We overlook her so considerably since she introduced us so much joy in excess of the pandemic, likely via really hard situations,” Granados stated. “My spouse hasn’t been working mainly because of the pandemic, so she stayed with her all the time, 24/7. Additional than her most effective mate, I think she was (like) her daughter.”

In the several hours and days immediately after the break-in, Granados and Cardoso filed a police report, placed about 200 laminated “missing” posters about the metropolis, and frequented numerous animal shelters hoping to come across her. They even went as considerably as Martinez and Fairfield hoping to discover a shelter or man or woman who experienced found her.

Minnelusa was carrying a environmentally friendly sweater and a harness, but no collar. She is not microchipped. Granados and Cardoso are providing a money reward for everyone who returns Minnelusa. The few, back again in Southern California now, can be arrived at at 310-997-7497 or [email protected].

Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff members author. E mail: [email protected] Twitter: @andpicon