FAIRFIELD, Ohio (WXIX) – A 12-week-old puppy is missing after a woman ran out of a Fairfield pet store with the animal, according to records from the Fairfield Police Department.
The unidentified woman took off with the dog from the Petland on Dixie Highway around 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 10, the case report says.
Police said the woman got into a white SUV near the back of a nearby UDF and drove toward S. Gilmore Road.
The Yorki puppy is valued at $4,099, according to police.
The woman, wearing a mask and pajama pants, first walked into Petland with a large white bag at 7:15 p.m., according to the Fairfield pet store.
She went straight to the puppy window, where Petland says she asked an employee if the dog behind the glass was a Yorkie.
The dog, named Toto, is a black and tan Yorkie, the store confirmed.
The soon-to-be suspect asked to visit with the puppy, Petland explained.
“So, we let them play with the puppy,” explained Petland employee David Sickman. “We want to make sure that it’s a puppy or a pet that they’re interested in or like, so we let them play with them.
The woman was taken into a socialization room, where she soon made the first of several phone calls, according to the pet store.
Before Toto was brought into the socialization room, the woman made an 11-second phone call.
Once Toto was in the room with her, Petland said she started looking at his belly and then made a second phone call, lasting 14 seconds.
Video surveillance shows the woman then standing up and talking on the phone for a third time, Petland said.
A Petland employee then comes into the socialization room to begin cleaning it.
The woman, Petland said, then appears to ask the worker a question and the employee then walks out of the room.
Petland said the woman is seen on video at 7:20 p.m. looking around before putting Toto into the large white bag and leaving the room.
The woman ran out of the store as two Petland workers chased after her.
“It was kind of like, ‘wait, that’s mine,’ in a way,” Sickman described. “I know it’s not mine, but it’s part of the stores and it’s looking for a home. It’s still mine, and I cared for it, and it’s such a good little puppy.”
Petland said the workers followed her into the parking lot, where they then called police.
Toto is black and tan and weighs three pounds, Petland described.
The pet store said that without proper care and nutrition, Toto is at risk of becoming hypoglycemic, which could be fatal.
Toto is microchipped, Petland said.
The pet store asks anyone with information about Toto or the suspect to call Fairfield police at 513-896-8295.
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