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Sandra Yi reporting Fifteen puppies were stolen from two different pet shops on the same night, but today most of them are back with the stores' owners. The owners got back 9 of the stolen dogs this morning, but 7 others are still missing.
Ashlee Starbuck and Corey Keller are victims of the same crime. They were strangers until today, when some of their stolen puppies were found together, dumped in a box outside a Midvale business.
"The first thing they did when they saw me was both jumped up and wanted to be held," said Keller, owner of Pawsitivley Purrfect Pets.
Ashlee Starbuck, owner of Pet Planet, said, "These dogs, when they came in, they were thirsty, they were fighting over food. My heart goes out to them. I hope they're being taken care of."
On Tuesday night thieves broke a window in Keller's West Jordan store and got away with four puppies, ferrets, rodents and snakes. "It was beyond belief, one of those things you don't expect to happen," Keller said.
The same night, Pet Planet in Riverton was also hit. The thieves broke into a separate building attached to the back of the store, smashed the wall, and crawled inside. They got away with 15 high-priced puppies and reptiles, totaling $8,000. "They found our weak spot and went right through it," Starbuck said.
Eyewitness News was there this afternoon when Starbuck got a phone call about someone selling a variety of puppies yesterday outside a store in West Jordan. She passed the information on to police who are investigating both break-ins.
Starbuck is glad she got most of her dogs back, but the kennels for her Jack Russell terrier, Yorkshire terrier, shih tzu and American Eskimo puppies are still empty. Keller is still missing a pug, which he was treating for an eye injury, and a cairn terrier. They're pleading for the dogs back.
"I just want you to return the puppies so they can find a good home," Starbuck said.
If you have any information on the break-ins, call police. Authorities say you should only buy animals from a reputable, licensed shop or breeder. Otherwise, you take a chance that they are stolen, or even sick.
