AKC: Dog thefts keep rising
Guada Garcia cares for Suki when this 7-year-old Pomeranian's owner travels overseas. At around 3:30 a.m. one morning last week, Guada left Suki tied up outside a storefront while she shopped inside.
"He was under my watch when he was stolen," Guada said. "Yeah, I know, it's a bit late for going out and buying chocolate and ice cream."
While Guada bought her late-night chocolate, security cameras captured a woman taking Suki and driving away with him.
"When we came out, we were so surprised to see that he was gone," Guada said. "It was basically like a nightmare."
The American Kennel Club has seen a rise in reported dog thefts every year since 2008. So far 2015 is on pace to continue that trend.
"Dogs are stolen and sold, often times by people who may have substance abuse problems and they're looking for a quick to get some extra money," said Brian Hellwig, the co-owner of Priceless Pet Services. He helped Guada organize a social media campaign to publicly pressure the mystery woman who stole this Pomeranian into returning him.
"People need to really be aware of the fact that they should not tie their dogs up outside of any grocery store or leave them unattended," Brian said.
He echoed the American Kennel Club when he asks dog owners and caretakers not to leave dogs alone in cars or unattended in a yard or tell strangers how much their pooch cost. He recommended that all dog owners license and microchip their pets because not every stolen dog returns home as Suki did.