Cold-hearted puppy thieves snatched two adorable baby bulldogs from a Colorado pet shop, with one of the culprits faking a seizure to distract workers as another manhandled the helpless dogs.
The dramatic robbery occurred on Sunday around 1:30 pm after the three suspects strolled into Perfect Pets in Centennial a few minutes apart, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).
Before pulling their shocking stunt, the men reportedly asked store employees about two bulldogs, which are priced at $4,299 each.
Chaos erupted when one of the men collapsed to the ground and started pulsating – mimicking having a seizure.
‘It was obviously a decoy to distract employees and people towards that guy on the floor,’ store manager Bianca Rose Larsen told ABC.
Store employees and patrons quickly turned to their attention to what they believed to be a medical emergency. The incident riled up the pets as well – with dogs leaning out of their pens and barking towards the man on the floor.
While everyone was fixated on the ‘seizing’ costumer, one of the culprits, dressed in all black, was captured on video as he unsuspectingly made his way towards the back of the store, where the expensive bulldog puppies were kept.
As he lifted up the top of the puppy cage, one of the workers took notice to the unfolding crime.
‘Hey! What are you doing?’ she shouted in panic as the man grabbed one puppy in each of his hands and sprinted off.
Soon several people began charging after the culprit all shouting ‘stop!’ as he made his way out the door. Two children in the store screamed in terror.
At one point, he tripped and one of the poor bulldogs flew through the air and slammed into the ground before the thief roughly grabbed it again.
‘He’s throwing them around like pieces of meat and just grabs them and like scrambles out of here,’ Larsen said, recalling the ‘brutal’ and ‘disturbing’ moment to ABC.
It appeared that the other man involved fled the scene before him, but they both drove off in a gold Cadillac Escalade.
Police arrested the man accused of faking the seizure, Timothy Davis, 37, and booked him charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft and drug possession.
Davis reportedly never left the store and stayed on the ground until police arrived, but the other culprits are still at large.
On Monday night, the ACSO shared that one of the stolen puppies had been safely returned to Perfect Pets by a good Samaritan.
The girl who brought the dog back to the store told police she bought the pet for $1,500 from a street vendor in Denver.
‘She immediately called the store when she recognized her puppy matched the photos in the story,’ the sheriff’s office wrote.
‘Perfect Pets is grateful for being reunited with the dog and plans to give her a reward.’
Before the puppy was found, Larsen said the store was offering a $4,000 reward for the safe return of both pets and for ‘the arrest of the criminal.’
Larsen said this is not the first time Perfect Pets has been targeted by thieves ‘especially in the last two weeks,’ and the store has been forced to up their security efforts by installing more cameras.
‘It should be a warm, happy, loving environment with all these puppies. Instead you’re just working and in fear that someone is going to steal one,’ Larsen said.