3 puppies, donation box stolen from humane society during break-in
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB/Gray News) - Three puppies and hundreds of dollars in donations were stolen during a break-in at the Albany Humane Society in Georgia Tuesday night.
“We were all very upset, confused, concerned,” Albany Humane Society Director Payton Jarrell said. “Especially for the animals’ safety. We have a couple of animals that we keep in our front office area. We were most concerned about if they were affected, and if so, how they were affected. They were pretty shaken up this morning.”
The Albany Police Department reported that they responded at about 11 p.m. to the animal shelter after shots were reportedly fired. According to a post from the Albany Humane Society, the suspect “shot out” the front door in order to gain access to the building.
In a surveillance video posted by the shelter, the suspect, wearing a ski mask, then enters through the broken door and minutes later is seen walking out with the puppies and donation box in hand.
“I can only imagine how traumatizing the shots fired were to our animals, especially our office cat you can see running away in the video,” Jarrell said. “We are so fortunate that the bullets only made it through two walls because right on the other side is where our cats are housed. We are devastated that three puppies were taken but so happy that no other animals were harmed.”
WALB learned the puppies were brought here to the shelter by the woman who was fostering them after several people approached her about buy the dogs, causing her to fear for her and the dogs’ safety. The woman said just last week, a large man stayed on her property for a long time, pushing her to sell the dogs.
The woman also said she had seen several cars circling her home but wasn’t sure if they were d with the man. She said that last Friday, she ed Jarrell and asked if she could bring the dogs in since she didn’t feel like it was safe for them at her home.
Jarrell said she wasn’t sure if the suspect was someone who had been to the shelter before.
“It’s hard to say. With how quickly they got in and out, it is a possibility that it is someone who has been in here and seen these animals before,” she said.
The shelter is asking the community to keep an eye out for the three puppies, especially on social media and in veterinary offices. The puppies appear to be a mixed breed, two of them are dark brown with lighter brown fur around their faces, paws and ears. The third is light brown with a white streak down the middle of their head and light eyes.
The shelter said they won’t ask any questions if the dogs are returned to the shelter, they just want to make sure they’re safe and end up in a loving home.
A local dog trainer, Revolutionary Canine, pledged to cover the donations stolen and is offering a $500 reward for information that would lead to an arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to the humane society at (229) 888-7387.
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