Thieves steal 11 puppies worth nearly $48K from Petland in Rome

For the fourth time in the past few weeks, thieves broke into a North Georgia Petland store and stole thousands of dollars worth of puppies.

The latest incident in Rome was reported about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Rome police. Officers said 11 puppies worth a total of $47,900 were stolen.

Police arrived at the store off Turner McCall Boulevard and found a shattered glass door and a rock inside the business, according to a police incident report. Blood was found on a shard of glass, and multiple trails of blood were seen throughout the store.

According to a witness, three men were seen near the store between 3 and 4 a.m., the report said. An employee called 911 hours later when she arrived to start her shift.

The stolen puppies varied in price from $2,900 to $7,300, according to the report. The breeds of the stolen dogs included an English bulldog, Aussie klee kai, Boston terrier, cavachon, French bulldog, Great Dane, pug, shiba inu, Victorian bulldog, West Highland terrier and two Yorkshire terriers.

The first Petland burglarized recently was in Kennesaw, where $75,000 worth of puppies were stolen March 15, AJC.com previously reported.

RELATED: 2 suspects break into Kennesaw pet store, steal puppies worth $75K

About three weeks later, five puppies worth $15,000 were stolen from a Petland in Dunwoody, authorities said.

A week after that, masked thieves stole 19 puppies worth $60,000 from a Gwinnett County Petland.