PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two women have been arrested and charged Monday with the theft of a soon-to-be-adopted puppy from Pennsylvania SPCA headquarters.
Peggy Cohen and Jacquelyn Gregory each face charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and cruelty to animals.
Wendy, the 3-month-old white terrier mix that was stolen, was placed in PSPCA's care and has now headed to a forever home.
Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, staff noticed Wendy was missing. After reviewing security footage, they quickly realized she was taken right out of the shelter.
The day before, the dog had found her forever family, but they didn’t take her home because she was scheduled to be spayed on Monday.
“She had only been in our care for a few days,” said PSPCA spokesperson Gillian Kocher. “She, of course, is a very highly adoptable, very desirable dog. The only reason that she had stayed in our care is that she was not spayed.”
Fortunately, the theft was caught on camera: A woman, wearing is clearly seen opening the kennel door and taking Wendy. With another person blocking her, she puts the dog in her purse and leaves.
That same day, the shelter was offering a reduced $25 adoption fee.
“There isn’t really a lot of reasons to take the dog instead of adopting one, because there are so many dogs in our shelter,” added Kocher.
The kennels are shut and latched but are not locked for safety reasons, she explained. The PSPCA plans to review its security protocols going forward.
Kocher said the pair signed in with the name Chapman.
“All we want to do is find loving homes for these animals, and we had done that in this case,” she said. “To have someone come in and … steal that opportunity from a deserving family is heartbreaking.”
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Fortunately, the dog was dropped off at a Philadelphia police station shortly thereafter, and the shelter confirmed through her microchip that the pup was indeed Wendy.
The PSPCA said that Wendy has been spayed, and has gone to her forever family.