Volusia County deputies said they are looking for a dog stolen from a 7-year-old boy who was taking his new best friend for a walk in his DeLand neighborhood.

UPDATE: Stolen pit bull puppy found in DeLand, suspect arrested

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The only trace the family could find of their red-nose pit bull, named Red, was his leash — the same leash Anthony Cavallero said his son, A.J., used to take Red for a walk Sunday morning.

"He always walks with a buddy, never by himself," Cavallero said of his son. "And not even 10 minutes [after leaving his home], he's screaming and crying outside, and he said the dog's gone. I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'Somebody stole it.'"

Deputies said just minutes from A.J.'s home, on the corner of West Taylor Road near South Montgomery Avenue, he and a little girl were approached by a man who got out of his car.

"He just said, 'Is this your dog?' And my son said, 'Yeah, this is my dog,'" Cavallero recalled from what his son told him. "And he said, 'No, it's not,' and took it, just took her leash right off, grabbed her by the harness and threw her right in."

Red is a 9- to 10-month-old pit bull, but she has only been living with the Cavalleros for three days before she was stolen. Anthony Cavallero said the family got her from a neighbor who couldn't juggle the responsibility with a newborn baby.

Now, the Cavalleros can't help but think what could have happened to A.J. and his friend when they came face-to-face with a thief — and what could now happen to Red.

"They could have been snatched just as easily as the dog," Cavallero said, adding he feared Red was "going to be bred or turned into a fighting dog — and she isn't a fighter, so she'll lose."

The Cavalleros said they are holding onto hope that investigators will find Red, and they don't have plans to replace her anytime soon.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said they believe the man who stole Red is in his 20s and about 6 feet tall with a skinny build, weighing 160–180 pounds. Deputies said he put Red in a silver, four-door car, possibly a Nissan, and drove off.