Squeals of joy and plenty of ear-scratching greeted a puppy in Orlando on Friday afternoon. It was the happy ending to a puppy-napping case that had Lakeland Police detectives working with dogged determination. It all started on Wednesday night with a jimmied gate at the Petland store inside the Lakeland Square Mall. Investigators say two men grabbed three puppies, valued at $4,600, and hopped into a waiting truck.
Store workers were left to worry. "It's very emotional for us, we take care of them," says manager Karl Rich. "They're our fur babies." Using the truck's tag number, detectives tracked down two suspects - Samuel Alves, 20, and Richard Clark, 21 - but not before Clark decided to get rid of the hot dogs. Investigators say Clark dumped the pug, chihuahua and basset hound in an Orlando neighbourhood.
YouTube link.
And that's where 11-year-old Aysia Montero-Ciliberti comes in. She spotted the puppies and, with the help of her two older sisters, rescued them from the streets. "They were the cutest things," says Aysia. The family was making fliers to try and find the puppies' owner when detectives, who had been sniffing around the neighbourhood, knocked on their door. Petland's vet checked out the dogs. They are healthy and no worse for wear after their big adventure.
To thank the Ciliberti's for their help in recovering the dogs, Petland surprised the three girls, delivering the pug puppy to their door. And this puppy love comes at a good time, especially for Brittany. The teenager is battling brain tumours. "It will bring a smile to my face," says Brittany of the puppy, who set about licking her chin. The girls' mother, Tracy Ciliberti, says the family has been dealing with Brittany's health problems for four years and at one point lost their home. They moved in with Tracy's sister and had to give up their dog. It was a pug name Honey, exactly like their brand new pet.
You can see video of Aysia and her new puppy here.
2 comments:
I have watched the video, and the puppies were so cute. I feel pity to those puppies that were not taking care of. There are lots of trainers on the puppy, for them to behave.
I feel pity for those animals which are being abandoned by their owners especially if they suffer cruelty. We all know that it is punishable by law. If you don't like to take care them, it is better to take them to animal welfare office than putting them in somewhere.
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