Justine Kerr, of Kurow, was working at a local pub on the morning of December 28 when she heard her unlocked car, parked out the back, start.
"And then I just watched him take off, and there was nothing I could do", she told the Otago Daily Times this week.
"We’re working our asses off; I’m doing three jobs and he goes and steals my pride and joy — we’re so gutted.
"I’m just so glad I didn’t have any of my dogs with me."
Ahuriri Community Board chairman Calum Reid, of Kurow, said the theft of Mrs Kerr’s vehicle and a television in the town late last month was a devastating sign "crime has come to our town".
It was just another incident in an apparently related string of crimes across Waitaki and Central Otago, when two dogs were taken during the theft of a ute in Omakau on Saturday.
The dogs were recovered in Fairlie on Monday, when the alleged offender was arrested.
The Timaru Herald reported Bradley John Bryce, 35, of Waimate, appeared in the Timaru District Court on Tuesday.
He made no plea in relation to two charges of stealing the dogs, a charge of speeding, a charge of driving in a dangerous manner, two charges of taking vehicles in Kurow and Omakau, and two charges of burglary in Kurow and Waimate.
Mrs Kerr said when the car was stolen, the keys were partially tucked under the driver’s seat.
Like many others, she and her husband were "struggling with the times", and had not been able to afford vehicle insurance — the theft had come as a financial blow.
When the car was recovered in Omakau on Saturday, its plates had been swapped for a pair reportedly stolen from a Waimate vehicle and it had travelled 2000km since she last saw it.
Missing were two diamond rings, family heirlooms Mrs Kerr had put in the centre console.
"They were under $1000 each probably, but they meant a lot to me — I’ll never see them again."
Mr Reid said the incident and its blatant nature had shaken the small town.
"For Justine to have that happen to her just shows you even small towns now in the South Island are a bit vulnerable to that sort of thing.
"I get a wind-up from my wife all the time about me leaving my keys in the truck.
"I’d say from this experience people are a bit more cautious now."
