The PSPCA said surveillance video captured a woman stealing "Wendy," a white terrier mix, out of her kennel around 2:19 p.m. Sunday. She then placed the puppy in her purse before leaving the building.
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"It's horrifying," said Gillian Kocher of the Pennsylvania SPCA. "I think it's also very blatant what happened here. There is no question here that the intent was to take this animal and leave the building with it."
Kocher said one of the worst parts of this alleged crime was that Wendy was already adopted. She says there was a piece of paper on the kennel clearly saying so.
"This is a theft," said Kocher. "They took an animal, which is considered property in the state of Pennsylvania, out of our facility. This animal was waiting to be altered and had already been adopted, so it had a family waiting for it."
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Around 9 p.m., PSPCA officials announced that the dog was turned over to the Philadelphia Police Department, but the alleged dognappers are still on the loose.
Kocher said the PSPCA confirmed via microchip that the pup was indeed Wendy and that she was in good health.
She said the PSPCA has multiple leads and plans on prosecuting the individuals to the fullest.