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NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - UPDATE: The NYPD has confirmed via a Tweet that Theo has been found and reunited with his owner.
A man took a dog off its leash outside a Williamsburg grocery store and fled with it, dragging the dog and then carrying it off while its owner shopped inside.
The NYPD shared security camera video of the incident which occurred on Monday at about 9 p.m. at the corner of Humboldt St. and Flushing Ave.
Theo's owner left the ailing border terrier mix outside Green Corner Fish & Farmers Market as she regularly does. When she returned, the leash was on the ground, but the dog was gone.
“I couldn’t breathe, and I also thought that I was imagining it," said Brie Kelly, 21, to the NY Post. "We frequent the neighborhood, and I walk around the neighborhood all the time. He’s small, he’s slightly hard of hearing, he’s got arthritis, he’s never run away, he has severe anxiety disorder from when we rescued him. He comes with me everywhere.”
The video shows a second man appearing to act as a lookout as Theo is grabbed by the neck.
A lost-dog flyer posted by Kelly says there is a "large cash reward" for Theo's safe return.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. You can remain anonymous.