Bella's Story Was a Lie

It was a heartwarming story: A Stratford family's dog, stolen from a parking lot in Derby, returns to its owners weeks after the brazen theft.

A community on Facebook rallied to help find Bella, a 7-year-old yellow lab whose photo was shared on the social media site by thousands.

In the end, the family would credit Facebook for Bella's safe return.

No doubt an inspiring story for anyone who loves or has loved a pet. But it was a lie.

A woman claiming to have received Bella via a Craigslist ad emailed Stratford Patch Wednesday morning.

"This whole story was fabricated," Janice Souza wrote. "We are the family who recieved Bella from a Craigslist ad posted by Novotny (the dog's owner). We have proof, phone calls, emails, etc ... As of yesterday Novotny has confessed to Derby police."

A report this morning on the Valley Independent Sentinel confirms this.

"My wife had given her away, unbeknownst to me," William Novotny told the newspaper.

The Valley Indy reports:

Novotny said his family had recently moved to a condo from a single-family home. His wife has some health problems and felt the family could no longer properly care for Bella.

Novotny said his wife knew he would oppose giving the animal away -- so she secretly placed an ad on Craigslist and offered the dog for free.

She then concocted the Home Depot story as a cover, he said.

Once he found out, he contacted the family who had Bella and said he gave them $750 for the dog's return.

"Frankly, this has been a nightmare for me," Novotny told the paper.