Brazen, violent theft of $1,000 dog

Thieves made of with a Papillon-Pomeranian puppy during a violent robbery at Puppies, Fish & Critters last week.

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There is still no sign of an adorable three pound puppy taken in a violent robbery from a Puppies, Fish & Critters last Wednesday.

Surrey RCMP spokesman Cpl. Bert Paquet said the investigation is still active and they are hoping to find the culprits who stole an expensive Papillon-Pomeranian puppy from the store on the Surrey/Langley border.

Store owner Tom Bettauer said it was around closing time at 5 p.m. when an Indo-Canadian man in his 20s came in to his shop located in the 19400 block of Langley Bypass.The suspect asked to see the puppy with the giant ears.

“He said he wanted to take a picture of the puppy to make sure it was the right one for his girlfriend,” said Bettauer. He only has six puppies in the store, so Bettauer handed over the tiny dog to the suspect.

“I was telling the guy that we get our puppies from a local breeder and that he could visit the parents if he likes, when these two other men came in the store and charged me,” he said.

“They hammered me into the counter and started punching fists into my head,” said Bettauer.

The pet store owner tried to fight off his attackers as the man holding the puppy ran out of the store. They tore both sleeves of his shirt, Bettauer said.

“At this point I was worried for my life.”

Then one of the guys said to me ‘I am gonna kill you, man.’” He said he was in shock.

“I’m a good-sized guy but I have kids so I didn’t want to fight them I just wanted them to get out.”

The victim called 911 as the other men fled on foot. Police arrived with a police dog who was able to track the suspects for a distance.

The trail went cold and the suspects got away. The dog is worth around $1,000 and has large, pointy ears.

“He’s the cutest looking puppy and just tiny for four months old,” said Bettauer. “We are hoping the best for this little dog. He is such a unique looking dog, he would be hard to sell. But we want to make every vet clinic and person know just in case he shows up somewhere.”

His attackers are also described as Indo-Canadian men in their 20s.