© Provided by WINS Radio New York A $2,000 reward is being offered after a puppy was stolen from a Middletown pet store on Thursday.
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the return of a weeks-old female cockapoo stolen from a Middletown pet store on Thursday afternoon.
Surveillance footage from The Pet Shoppe shows a man sitting in a chair playing with the tiny brown puppy before abruptly snatching her up and fleeing the store.
Puppy Stolen from the Pet Shoppe…Female Cockapoo… Please help us find this puppy…$2000 for the safe return of the Puppy. The Pet Shoppe Reward $1000 New Jersey Coalition of Responsible Pet Stores Reward $1000 https://www.njresponsiblepetstores.com/new-jersey-coalition-pet-stores/ 1284 Highway 35 Middletown, NJ 07748 732-706-5000 Microchip # 990000004409325 He drove away black Nissan Rogue. We believe X58 were first letters on the license plate.
Posted by The Pet Shoppe on Thursday, May 19, 2022
According to a Facebook post from the store, the suspect then drove away in a black Nissan Rogue with X58, potentially as the initial letters of the license plate.
Middletown Police said he had asked if the store had any cockapoo or Goldendoodle puppies for sale.
Dana DiEugenio, the store owner, told NJ.com that the dog is under two pounds and needs to eat a supplement such as Nutra-Cal or Nutra Drop every few hours to keep her blood sugar from dropping too low.
Authorities said he was last seen wearing wearing black pants, a black hoodie and a black hat.
The puppy has a microchip with the number 990000004409325.
DiEugenio said that along with a $1,000 reward from the store, another $1,000 is being offered by the New Jersey Coalition of Responsible Pet Stores.