Man steals $1,800 dog in pet store snatch-and-run

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By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

How much is that doggy in the window? Police in Dunwoody say a man didn't bother to find out.

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Special, Special This 2-month-old Maltese puppy is a sibling to the dog that was stolen Sunday from a Dunwoody pet store, according to police.

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The man allegedly ran out of the Petland store on Ashford Dunwoody Road with a 2-pound Maltese puppy worth $1,800.

The suspect initially told store employees he planned to buy the puppy as a gift, and they let him hold it. When a store worker turned away, the man allegedly dashed out of the store and into a waiting car Sunday afternoon.

“I hear, ‘Someone just stole a puppy!'" Geoff Campbell, the store's sales manager, told the AJC Tuesday. “Our doors were closed, but he banged them, and that’s what got everyone’s attention."

Two store employees ran after the man, who identified himself as "Romeo," but weren't able to catch him, Campbell said.

"He had a pretty good start," Campbell said. "He had a car waiting around the corner, and he got in and took off.”

The suspect was a black male wearing a horizontal striped shirt and a hoodie, was approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall and had tattoos on his neck, Sgt. Mike Carlson with Dunwoody police told the AJC.

Police were called to store, where store employees found something that dog-napper apparently dropped.

His cell phone.

The phone rang several times, Campbell said. But no one in the store answered the calls.

"When the police got here, they answered it," Campbell said.

Although investigators have not yet linked the phone with the suspect, Campbell is hopeful the puppy's microchip will also locate the puppy.

“All of our puppies are micro-chipped, and they’re registered to the store," Campbell said.

If someone tries to take the 2-month-old dog to a veterinarian, the microchip should alert caregivers the animal belongs at the store, he said.

“Ultimately, we just want the puppy back," Campbell said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to it."

The puppy's sister remains for sale at the store.

Anyone with information regarding the crime is asked to contact the Dunwoody Police Department at 678-382-6900.