Okay, I feel a great need to respond to this, despite the fact that I will most likely get flamed for it.
#1 Why are your dogs roaming loose? A fence would have prevented it. The fact that the mother dog was hit means she was in the road, where CARS belong, not dogs. Please don't blame someone for "killing" your dog, if your dog was out in the road.
#2 Again, a fence would most likely prevent the dog from being "stolen" as 90% of "stolen" dogs have run off, either after another dog, a dog in heat for young unneutored males, or run off after being injured by a car after being in the road.
I Work in the animal industry, and I hear of FENCED dogs being stolen maybe once a year. I hear of free-roaming dogs being stolen all year long, and it burns me up when people scream about a car hitting their dog IN THE ROAD. A dog doesn't belong in the road. Not to mention it could have caused a wreck that injured or killed a person who is doing nothing but driving along the road minding their own business.
"My dog never leaves the yard" is not a valid excuse unless you ALWAYS are watching them every minute that they are outside. Obviously not the case here.
I am VERY sorry that you lost the mother dog to a car, and extremely sorry that the puppy is gone now, but please understand that a responsible owner keeps close tabs on their animals.
If I put one of my ball pythons outside and went inside for an hour, I would never assume someone came by and STOLE it. And a dog is somewhat the same. Just because it never has wandered before, doesn't mean it won't the very next time. Especially in the case of young unneutered males, and puppies.
Rant over, soapbox is put away, flame away at me for stating the truth, even if it might be a harsh time to state it.
Wolfy(who is tired of seeing dogs pay the price)