CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A Centennial pet store has had its most valuable merchandise stolen at least three times this year. The most recent incident was captured on store surveillance and showed a woman stealing two of the store's puppies.
"It's really quite disheartening that I can't just let people come and enjoy the pups. I have to be scared that they're going to steal them," store owner Bianca Rose Larsen said.
On Monday around noon, Larsen said a woman came to her store, Perfect Pets, under the guise of making a purchase.
"She had asked to see the Pomeranian that was in that window," she said.
The initial red flag was the woman's response to the store's ID policy, according to Larsen.
"The lady asked [the store clerk], 'Well, why do I need to show my ID?'" Larsen said.
The store owner said the woman reluctantly retrieved her ID but within moments after a clerk turned away, the woman ran out of the store with two puppies — each worth thousands of dollars.
"If you don't have the money to afford it, how are you going to take care of it?" she said.
A Good Samaritan was almost hit by a car while trying to run after the thief, the storeowner added.
"The most shocking part about this is just the absolute disregard that the thieves have for not only animal life but human life," she said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office is investigating the circumstances, but a spokesperson said the detective could use leads in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Investigations Tip Line at 720-874-8477.
Perfect Pets is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.