Woman with cat tattoo suspected of puppy theft

The customer inside the pet store seemed like a great fit for the puppy. She asked questions. Enjoyed playing with the dog. Even had a tattoo of a Cheshire cat on her neck, a clear indication she was an animal person.



But when the staff at Just Puppies in Rockville, Washington wasn’t looking, police say, the woman slipped the one-pound pooch into her purse and got away with a 10-week old $1,200 Maltese puppy. “The puppy was so small, she fit right in,” said Jeanea Tobiasz, manager of the store.



Rockville police described the woman as white with an Eastern European accent, 25 to 30 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 115 pounds. They released store surveillance video on Thursday, asking for help from anyone who recognized her or is familiar with the tattoo: the outline of a cat on the back of her neck.


YouTube link.

The video shows her standing in a little stall area, looking around, appearing to bag the dog and walking out of the stall. The woman left the store a short time later. “We’re hoping that with such a distinctive tattoo, someone knows who this person is,” said Maj. Tim Marsh of the Rockville police department.