A $2,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the return of a 10-week-old female cockapoo stolen on Thursday afternoon.
Surveillance video from The Pet Shoppe on Route 35 in Middletown shows a man sitting on a chair next to the cash register near the front of the store before briefly playing with the tiny dog, scooping it up and sprinting out the door.
He got into a waiting SUV before the vehicle fled south on Route 35, said Dana DiEugenio, the store owner.
The man had asked if the store had any cockapoo or Goldendoodle puppies for sale, Middletown police said.
DiEugenio said the dog weighs less than 2 pounds and has special nutritional needs. The dog needs to be fed a supplement such as Nutra-Cal or Nutra Drop every few hours to keep its blood sugar from dropping too low.
The alleged thief was wearing black pants, a black hoodie and a black hat. He fled in a black Nissan Rogue with a partial plate of X58, police said.
The dog has a microchip with the number 990000004409325, officials said.
DiEugenio was already offering a $1,000 reward. On Friday, the New Jersey Coalition of Responsible Pet Stores kicked in an additional $1,000, DiEugenio said.
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com
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