Two of three dogs that were stolen early Friday morning from PAWS Atlanta, a no-kill animal shelter in Decatur, had been found as of Sunday.
Manager Laura McKelvey said she and two other employees had to go to the shelter in the middle of the night Friday after being alerted by their security cameras about a dog abandoned in their parking lot. While trying to trap the dog, they saw a suspicious person and heard breaking glass.
They called 911, but when DeKalb County police showed up around 2:30 a.m., the burglary suspect had already left with three dogs. The thief had taken a toy Yorkshire Terrier named Princeton and two mixed-breed puppies, Emilia and Violet.
Both Emilia and Violet were found unharmed near the shelter, and PAWS Atlanta is encouraging those in the area to be especially vigilant. The shelter is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the third dog, Princeton, it said on Instagram.
Around 8 p.m. on Friday, a PAWS Atlanta volunteer came across a photo of a puppy online that resembled one of the missing dogs, the shelter wrote in a post.
“The dog had been wandering, scared, in someone’s yard for a few hours,” the organization added.
The volunteer contacted the shelter staff, who immediately drove to the location and picked up Emilia.
“We are beyond elated that Emilia is safe and sound back at PAWS Atlanta,” the shelter wrote. “Other than a few scratches and a hungry belly, she is unharmed.”
A second puppy, Violet, was found tied to a telephone pole by a man walking his dog on Sunday morning. He recognized her and brought her back, the shelter shared. The shelter does not believe the person who returned her is related to the break-in.
Violet was also returned unharmed. The shelter noted she was wearing a red harness and a bright pink braided leash that did not belong to PAWS Atlanta.
McKelvey said she thought the dogs were targeted for their potential monetary value.
“It’s going to be small breed dogs and puppies that people are going to think they can sell,” she said.
Toy Yorkies can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars if purchased from a breeder, but Atlanta’s animal shelters are filled with mixed-breed puppies like Emilia and Violet. Still, puppies tend to be more valuable than adult dogs of similar breeding. McKelvey said Emilia and Violet had been abandoned at PAWS Atlanta in poor condition.
“When they first came to us, they were very shut down and shy and sick,” she said. “They were very, very sick. We’ve had them a couple of months, trying to get them nursed through it.”
Princeton, the toy Yorkie, is still missing, according to PAWS Atlanta. The shelter advises those wanting to help to stay vigilant on social media, Craigslist and the Nextdoor app.
“We’re so grateful for the support of people near and wide,” the shelter wrote on Instagram Sunday. “Let’s bring Princeton home.”
A DeKalb police spokeswoman confirmed the incident was under investigation.
“We have filed a report with the police,” McKelvey said. “We hope they can figure this out, but if they can’t, we still hope someone will return those animals to us. Or if they see them somewhere for sale, we can go get them back.”
