CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Two people were caught on surveillance video shoplifting a puppy from a pet store in Centennial.
Bianca Rose Larsen manages Perfect Pets on University Boulevard. She said a young woman and young man took a toy female Pomeranian that weighs only about 2 pounds when she when she momentarily left the room.
"As soon as I go to the back right there, they make a run for it," Larsen said, while showing surveillance video of the incident.
Larsen said the toy Pomeranian taken Thursday cost $3,200.
"I'm really concerned about the dog," Larsen said. "Shoplifting a puppy is so much different than stealing a big TV or candy or something like that."
She said the theft doesn't bother her as much as a potential health problem.
"These little teacup and toy breeds are prone to hypoglycemia which is low blood sugar," Larsen explained. "So, if that puppy goes too long without eating, which could be a matter of a few hours, its blood sugar could drop too low, similar to someone who is diabetic and they can die from it, easily."
Puppy thefts are nothing new, Larsen said. Throughout the pandemic, she said they are happening more often.
"Throughout COVID we've actually gotten more puppies stolen than the entire seven prior years that we have been here," Larsen said.
She wants people to look at the images of the thieves captured on surveillance video with hopes of getting the stolen dog back.
"What I’m hoping for more than anything is the safe return of the puppy in good health," Larsen said.
Perfects Pets is offering a $500 reward in this case. Anyone who may know something about the crime should contact the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
"It's terrifying," Larsen said. "It's very concerning and I just really hope the puppy is okay."
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