On Friday, a man collapsed at Perfect Pets in Denver, appearing to have a seizure, which distracted staff while another man stole two English bulldog puppies worth $4,300 each. Surveillance footage captured the thief’s escape after colliding with an employee. A good Samaritan later returned one of the puppies after recognizing it in a news story, having purchased it from a vendor. The man who faked the seizure, Timothy Davis, was arrested for theft and drug possession. Police are still searching for his accomplices and the second puppy remains missing, highlighting a troubling trend of pet thefts.
On Friday at around 1:30 p.m., a man collapsed and became unresponsive in a Perfect Pets store located outside Denver, seemingly having a seizure.
As the dogs in the pet store began barking and jumping at the edges of their pens, alerting the employees to the situation, several staff members rushed to assist the man.
However, another man who had briefly been near the staff hurriedly walked away to a different part of the store. Security footage captured him opening a kennel and stealing two English bulldog puppies valued at approximately $4,300 each, according to store manager Bianca Rose Larsen.
“Hey, what are you doing?” a store employee can be heard shouting in the surveillance video. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
In a chaotic moment, the thief struck one of the employees who attempted to prevent his exit, kicking her in the face. The puppies went flying, but he narrowly managed to grab them before rushing out of the store. He then fled with another man in a gold Cadillac Escalade with chrome wheels and tinted windows, which lacked license plates.
Fortunately, there was a somewhat positive outcome: On Monday evening, one of the 11-week-old English bulldogs was safely returned. However, three suspects remain at large, and one puppy is still missing.
This was not the first instance of bold thefts of valuable pets. In 2021, singer Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot during the theft of her French bulldogs, prompting her to offer a $500,000 reward for their return. Furthermore, just last month, a thief fled from a New Jersey bird shop with an African grey parrot valued at around $7,000, according to a local ABC affiliate. Perfect Pets has previously experienced multiple burglaries, as purebred pets often sell for thousands in the competitive market.
“He’s doing well and is in decent shape, but he must’ve caught a cold during his little adventure,” Ms. Larsen, 34, remarked, noting that the returned puppy was a bit under the weather. “I’m so relieved he’s home. He gave me a little snuggle.”
A woman, whose identity remains undisclosed by the authorities, brought the dog back after noticing it matched the description of one of the stolen puppies from Perfect Pets. She purchased it from a street vendor in northern Denver for $1,500, as reported by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office on social media Tuesday.
“An altruistic individual returned one of the stolen puppies after seeing a news segment about the theft,” the sheriff’s office stated. “Perfect Pets is thankful for the reunion and intends to offer her a reward.”
Authorities have identified the man who collapsed in the store and was later apprehended as Timothy Davis, 37. They indicated that he staged a seizure as part of a diversion. Mr. Davis faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft, and drug possession. As of Tuesday, it was unclear whether he had retained legal representation.
The police continue to search for three additional suspects connected to the incident: two men who entered the store at the same time as Mr. Davis and the driver of the getaway vehicle. As of Tuesday evening, no additional arrests have been reported by the sheriff’s office spokeswoman.
After the puppies were stolen, Jens Larsen, Ms. Larsen’s father and the store owner, was in a state of “absolute hysteria,” she recounted.
“It was my day off,” Ms. Larsen said, noting that she is a biology student at the University of Colorado Denver and hopes to become a veterinarian. “I was supposed to focus on my homework, but my entire day was spent watching surveillance footage.”
By the end of the day, she expressed gratitude towards two dedicated employees who attempted to reclaim the puppies before the culprits could escape.
“They made a tremendous effort to recover them,” Ms. Larsen stated. “It was heartbreaking to watch those poor little puppies get tossed around.”
Ms. Larsen was flooded with emotion upon seeing the puppy that was returned to them. “It was impossible not to shed tears,” she shared.