3 People Wanted After Dog Stolen From Animal Shelter
JURUPA VALLEY (CBSLA) – Authorities are looking for three people who orchestrated the break-in and theft of a dog from an animal shelter in Jurupa Valley last week.
About one hour later, surveillance video showed a man, woman and boy arrive and try and break-in through a locked compartment, animal services reports. At 9:30 p.m. on May 3, a brindle-colored pit bull mix was left by a Good Samaritan in a night-drop compartment in the Riverside County Animal Services shelter located at 6851 Van Buren Blvd.
The boy was eventually able to break open the compartment. The video then showed the man enter and pull the dog out. The dog was then seen on video following the man out to what appeared to be a waiting vehicle, animal services said. At one point, the man pulled on the dog's collar to get it to follow. The three suspects then drove away.
Authorities are unsure if the suspects owned the dog in question.
"Why this dog was taken is anyone's guess, but it's theft in our eyes, and we're upset someone took a dog that may be owned by someone else," RCAS Director Robert Miller said in a statement. "It's very possible that an owner will never get their pet back because of the selfish act of these people."
A photograph of the dog has been released. Anyone with information on the break-in or the identity of the suspects is asked to contact the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"It's bizarre. It is something we don't deal with, of course, ever, really," added John Welsh, also with animal services. "It's very sad, because if this is somebody else's animal, there's no way we can make that reunion now."