PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (WCCO) – A man stole four puppies from a kennel in Prior Lake, but likely did not realize that his crime was caught on camera.
Surveillance video from Thunder Owl Kennels early Monday morning shows a man taking four Siberian Husky puppies from their mother.
The video even shows tattoos the man has on his neck and arms.
“He must have been staking it out for a while. It looked like he knew what he was doing. He came straight for the puppies,” said Jeff Bardon, the owner of Thunder Owl.
Bardon is talking about someone he has never seen before. But around 1 a.m. Monady the unidentified thief walked right into the kennel and stole four puppies.
He then locked their mom, 5-year-old Jocelyn, back in her kennel before leaving. And the entire two minute dog-napping was captured on camera.
Just two days before the puppies were stolen, Jeff installed surveillance cameras in his kennel. He’s hoping that lucky break helps him catch the man who stole his dogs.
“He didn’t cover up any of his tattoos, didn’t wear a mask. I don’t know what he was thinking,” Bardon said.
And there’s also concern the thief may not know how to care for the puppies.
“He took four puppies and they are only three and-a-half weeks old, and you really aren’t supposed to adopt them out until they are seven-and-a-half, 8 weeks [old],” Bardon said.
In the meantime, all Bardon can do is hope that police, or someone who sees the video, can help him get his dogs back.
“We just want the puppies back,” he said. “And if they show up…I’m not going to press charges or anything. I just want them back so they are back with their mother.”
Bardon said three of the puppies that were stolen had already been sold.
He believes that the man in the video may be working for someone who is familiar with his kennel.
Bardon had left his doors unlocked that night, but he says he won’t make that mistake again.
Prior Lake police think they have a suspect, but are asking for the public’s help in identifying the man in the video.
