Well the guys that stole your dog did you a big favour and you certainly won that time.
I purchased a GM Holden once that was cheap as it had a real bad timing chain rattle. Before the purchase,I had checked out the cost of the new timing chain,gaskets etc to repair the motor and it was very cheap so purchased the car. I searched around the carshops to buy a workshop manual for the car to aid me in doing the repair to find that to replace the timing chain,the manual stated that one must remove the bonnet,remore the cylinder head, drop the sump to be able to remove the front cover just to replace the timing chain. Well,after reading that I thought,no wonder the car dealer had sold the car so cheap!!!
After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me to stop panicking,he new how to do the job by just loosen up the head and sump.wedging them apart with large screwdrivers until you can remove the front cover. It worked a treat and for once I made money on a car.