The search is on for a puppy allegedly taken from a pet store in Northern Virginia.
It happened this week at the XO Pups store in Chantilly. Fairfax County Police are reviewing surveillance video after the store owner reported a 10-week-old Maltipoo stolen.
The owner of the store, Ayman Koshok, says lots of people come into the store to admire and hopefully pay for and leave with a new furry friend.
Surveillance video inside the store shows the moments two people can be seen with the maltipoo puppy. Koshok says the duo grabbed the puppy from the back before taking off from the store.
Koshok says a kennel tech was in the back working and a manager was working with another customer when the puppy was taken away.
“What they did was absolutely wrong, and it’s a crime,” he said. “They will be punished for it,”
Security camera video shows the pup dangling in one of the hands of the alleged suspects behind a wall in the store before another camera angle captures the duo making a run for it out the front door.
“We’ve never had an issue like that happen here before, so it’s really unusual and unexpected.” Koshok says. “It seems to me like these guys had a plan. They premeditated what they wanted to do.”
Koshok says the puppy along with its siblings arrived at his store two weeks ago. The pup is valued at $4,000.
He says his number one priority is “how the puppy is doing, and we want to make sure that it’s okay.”
This remains an active investigation, and Fairfax County Police say they are reviewing the surveillance video.
