CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KMGH/CNN Newsource/WKRC) – A pet shop was robbed when a thief faked a seizure as a distraction while his accomplices stole puppies.
Bianca Rose Larsen from Perfect Pets expressed her confusion and concern about the growing rate of crime at her family-owned pet store, including an intense robbery that involved two puppies being stolen.
“I have no clue exactly why all of a sudden crime or why theft has, you know, at our store, especially in the last two weeks, has skyrocketed,” she said.
Jens Larsen, who owns the business, said, “Crime has just escalated to an astronomical amount. It affects our bottom line tremendously.”
The incident weighing on the employees the most occurred on Friday, when a man crashed to the floor in what appeared to be a seizure.
“It was obviously a decoy to distract employees and people toward that guy on the floor,” Bianca said.
Bianca said that while attention was on the man who was faking a seizure, another man grabbed two puppies and started to run out the door. Although Bianca and the other employees tried to stop him, he managed to escape the building with the dogs.
“He's throwing [the puppies] around like pieces of meat and just grabs them and scrambles out of here,” she said.
Police said that one person was arrested in the store on Friday, but the others escaped in a getaway car. Bianca said the business is offering a $4,000 reward for the safe recovery of the puppies and the arrest of the criminals involved.
One puppy was returned on Monday by a woman who said she bought it from a street vendor for $1,500. The store said it intended to give the woman a reward.
The two stolen puppies were English Bulldogs valued at $4,000 each.
