SHE’S DOG-GONE
Owner: Stolen Yorkie pup needs meds to live
A two-month-old pooch who was pup-napped from a Brooklyn pet store in danger of dying because the heartless thieves who walked off with her didn’t know the tiny Yorkie needs daily medication to stay alive, her worried owner told the Daily News on Thursday.
Little Covina — named after the coronavirus crisis that has shut New York City down since early March — was snatched from Puppy Paradise in Flatbush on Monday, said owner David Dietz, who immediately filed a police report.
Dietz said he believes a couple caught on surveillance video were the ones who purloined the petite pooch — and that normally he would have had enough staffers there to prevent such a theft.
“With coronavirus we had to cut staff so we have one or two people during the day...we used to have seven employees at all times,” said Dietz who only had one employee in the store at the time of the robbery.
“Everyone is multitasking and we can’t have eyes on all places anymore so the couple took advantage of that,” he added.
Covina, an eight-week old Yorkshire terrier, arrived at Puppy Paradise just three days before she was stolen, said Dietz.
Due to her young age, Dietz was giving her a special medicine to help her develop normally — but now he fears time is running out for the puppy.
“She will die if she is not maintained on the strict regimen of medicine we have her on,” said Dietz.
According to Dietz, his security footage caught a couple outside the store arguing on Monday afternoon, moments before Covina went missing.
The woman entered the store first, he said.
According to the video footage, the woman walked over to where Covina was being held behind security glass with her sister Cova.
Denisse Garcia, 27, a sales associate, picked up the Yorkie pup to show the woman, who asked to see the dog.
“She seemed really interested in the puppies...she even asked me about financing options,” said Garcia, who left the pooch in a play pen so the woman could interact with the dog while she helped another family.
At that point, the man who appeared to be the woman’s boyfriend also entered the store, the video shows.
“She spent 10 minutes looking at the dog until her boyfriend or whatever came in,” recalled Garcia, who said the couple sat with the puppy outside the playpen.
When the couple exited the store, Garcia assumed they left Covina in her playpen. But when she popped over a minute later to look, the Yorkie pup was gone.
Garcia and Dietz immediately called police and filed a report.
The NYPD confirmed to The News that it received the complaint and has opened an investigation into the couple seen on the surveillance footage.
“The couple inquired about a Yorkie puppy and the male left the store without paying for the dog and the couple fled north on Flatbush Ave. The dog is valued at approximately $3,000. There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” police said.
Dietz said he’s willing to drop all charges if Covina is just brought home.
“We don’t want to prosecute ... we just want the baby back,” he said.
Dietz, who has owned Puppy Paradise for over 45 years, knows Yorkies are sought after breeds because of their hefty price tag.
Covina’s puppy sibling has been distressed since the theft and misses her sister, Garcia said.
“She was such a small puppy and they are not going to know how to take care of her ... Teacups are so small that they need to constantly be eating and given supplements, but they took her without knowing proper care for her,” said Garcia, who hopes that with help from the community the pup can be returned safely.