2 puppies stolen from pet store

THORNTON, Colo. — Police are investigating the theft of two puppies from a pet store in Thornton.

Pet Ranch employee Alicia Alvarez told 9NEWS two teacup Yorkshire terrier puppies were taken from the store at East 120th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard while it was open Friday.

She said the thief, who was wearing a medical mask, took the dogs from an unlocked cage near the front of the store and walked out with them.

The theft was caught on surveillance video, Alvarez said, and the puppies are microchipped so a scan will show that they've been reported stolen. 

Alvarez said the store is now looking into implementing new security measures such as locking the cages — something they didn't want to do because they like to give customers easy access to the dogs so they can pick them up and interact with them. 

“It's unfortunate because one bad apple kind of ruins it for everyone else,” Alvarez said. 

Alvarez said the puppies are in danger because they have specific feeding and nutrition requirements. If they aren't fed often enough or are given the wrong kind of food, they could become very sick.

Now, Alvarez is just hoping the dogs will be returned to them.

“We just really want to get these puppies back because all of my coworkers and I, we care for the dogs, we're essentially their moms and dads, their fur parents until they can get a home, so it really is disappointing and sad for us because we feel like we lost some of our own dogs,” said Alvarez.

Anyone who has information that could help police with their investigation is asked to call Thornton Police at 720-977-5150.

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