ABOVE: Late Thursday, a woman asked to pet and hold a French Bulldog at a Vancouver tattoo parlour. But seconds later, the woman makes off with the dog. Darlene Heidemann reports.
A Vancouver dog owner is heartbroken after her French bulldog was allegedly stolen from her workplace at a tattoo parlour Thursday night.
It happened around 6:45 p.m. at the FALL Tattooing shop on Seymour Street.
Dog’s owner Shaughnessy Keely told Global News a woman came into the parlour and was browsing the gallery downstairs.
Her dog Chloe, a 10-month-old French bulldog, was behind the front desk at the time.
When Keely brought Chloe out to go to the bathroom, the woman approached her asking to pet Chloe and then asked to hold her.
“This is pretty normal, people always ask for these sorts of things,” says Keely.
She obliged, but was distracted when one of the artists brought down his client and needed her help.
That is when, Keely says, the woman started walking towards the door all the while holding Chloe and looking at art on the wall.
Once she was close enough to the door, the woman has allegedly made a run for it and jumped into a black car with no license plate.
Keely says she and her coworkers tried to chase after the car but to no avail.
“I can’t believe this happened and I would give anything to have our little Chloe back,” said Keely in an Instagram post.
She is now reportedly offering a $10,000 reward for the dog.
WATCH: Surveillance video showing the alleged theft
“It was shocking,” said Mike Nassar, who was working behind the counter and tried to stop the thief.
“You could tell it was definitely premeditated, it was really quite astounding to see someone could to that length to steal somebody’s pet, part of someone’s family.”
VPD spokesperson Randy Fincham told Global News they are looking into the incident, but says there is limited information to share at this time.
“We do see a number of dog thefts, but to do it in this manner is unusual,” says Alisha McLellan of Petsearchers Canada, who said they do have some leads on the case.
Chloe was wearing a pink hoodie, harness and leash when she was stolen.
Anyone who sees Chloe is asked to call 604-725-9662 or 604-825-0737.
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