Pet-store thief stuffed puppy into his pants

Long Island police are asking the public to help identify a thief who stole a purebred puppy by stuffing it into his jeans. Two men entered the Zoorama Pet Store in Elmont on June 23, and one pretended to be interested in dogs, Nassau Police said.



While the clerk was distracted, one of the men tried to open the cash register. When that didn’t work, he grabbed a $1,000 10-week-old Pomeranian puppy and shoved it into his pants. Owner Harsha Perera, 54, said the store video “shows very clearly he’s taking the dog and putting it in his pants.

“The puppy is trying to get out, and he’s pushing it back in,” said Perera, whose son was the clerk. “Then he covered it with his shirt.” Perera said his son was distracted when one of the men asked to look at a dog. They went behind the counter three times and tried to open the register, but they couldn’t get it open,” he said. “They couldn’t get money, so they settled for a puppy.”


YouTube link.

He said the puppy is fragile and needs special care. He is offering a $500 reward for the return of the 1 1/2-pound, light-cream-coloured female dog. One suspect was Hispanic, 20 to 30 years old and about 5-foot-6, and wore a Nike “Swoosh” T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, police said. The other wore a white T-shirt and grey sweat pants.