Fayetteville, N.C. — Staff at a local veterinary clinic admit they lost a pet dog that a new Fayetteville resident had boarded with them.

Employees at the Reilly Road Animal Hospital said Godiva, a pit bull belonging to Sam Anisha, somehow got out of her cage and the building and into the streets.

"(Godiva) was like a part of the family. It was a family dog," Anisha said of the 5-year-old dog he's had since she was a puppy. "It wasn't just an animal."

Anisha said he named the brown-and-white pit bull Godiva, because she's as sweet as chocolate.

Workers at Reilly Road Animal Hospital, however, told Anisha that his dog was missing when he arrived to pick her up on June 20.

"The staff said, well, maybe we gave her to the wrong person," Anisha said. "And I was like, if someone took the wrong dog, they're going to notice that right then and there."

Staffers also told Anisha a break-in had occurred a night earlier, and Godiva could have been stolen.

Employees say they later determined that Godiva managed to break loose from her cage and leave the building through a side door around 7:30 p.m. on June 19.

The kennel had been locked up, veterinary technician Tammy Calloway said.

"Somehow, she broke open the lock," Calloway said. "We checked, the alarm was set, and the door was locked."

"They're trying to say she opened the round door knob and the dead bolt that's about five or six feet high," Anisha said.

The clinic has joined Anisha in his efforts to find the Godiva, staffers said. They have run an ad in the newspaper for a week and helped distribute fliers in the area.

"We're trying out best to find this dog," Dr. Bentley Stephenson said.

Calloway said it's the first time Reilly Road Animal Hospital has lost a pet in its 18-year history.

Anisha questioned why he wasn't immediately informed about his dog's disappearance.

"Instead, they waited until I go up there and pick up the dog, and then they tell me what's happening," Anisha said. "And that's already so many hours after she's gotten out of the building."

Anisha has offered a $1,000 reward for Godiva's safe return.

Anyone who has seen the dog was asked to call Anisha at 910-723-0805.