Officials recover three puppies stolen from Mount Healthy pet store during break-in

MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio — Three puppies stolen from a Mount Healthy pet store in February have been safely recovered, Cincinnati Animal CARE said.

Three people are caught on surveillance camera breaking into Animal House Pet Store on Hamilton Avenue and stealing the puppies from their pens in early February.

"You're helping them find good homes. And seeing people's faces when they get to take home a puppy that they really want, that's probably one of the best things up here," said Maria Laug, pet groomer at Animal House Pet Store.

Laug said employees — and dogs — are on edge after the break-in.

"You can tell it went from happy barking to completely terrified," added Laug. "Seeing them being yanked out of the pens the way that they were, who knows what they're doing with them now. Who knows if they took them for good intentions or for bad intentions. I just hope that they're OK."

The pet store owners didn't want to go on camera, but told WCPO they think three teenagers who were in the store earlier that day later broke in through a side door. The dogs they took are two pugs, Boston Terrier mixes, and one Cocker Spaniel Pug mix.

Animal House Cincinnati

Animal House Cincinnati

This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, another puppy was taken from the store in 2019. Surveillance video from then shows a person picking up a Shih Tzu puppy and tucking it into a bag before leaving the store. Owner Mike Raleigh said they noticed a puppy was missing about an hour later when they went to microchip the litter.

The store is offering a reward to find the stolen puppies and the people who took them.

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