Devastating update after heartless thieves stole ute with beloved family pet dog Arnie sleeping inside

A family dog that was sleeping inside a ute when the car was stolen from Brisbane’s south-east has been found dead.

Arnie the German Shepherd was asleep in the tray of Nathan McKeown’s ute on Davidson Street in Wynnum on November 8 at the time of the theft.

The 2012 black Toyota Hilux was stolen between the hours of 1.30am and 5am, police believe. Arnie the German Shepherd was found dead alongside the car yesterday. (Supplied)

“We don’t care about the ute, we just want Arnie returned,” McKeown told Today earlier this week.

Officers worked “around the clock” to find Arnie and the missing ute, however the search came to a tragic end yesterday.

A member of the public found the ute parked on Amelia Street in Fortitute Valley about 4pm.

Arnie was found dead inside the car.

Police are still hunting for the alleged car thief and have issued a public plea for any information.

“We hadn’t given up hope of finding Arnie and being able to reunite him with his family,” said Detective Senior Sergeant Christopher Lafferty.

Investigators are devastated by this discovery and our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.

“Officers remain committed to finding justice for Arnie and his family and will continue to investigate any report to identify and locate the offender.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.