ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A puppy stolen from a St. Paul pet shop last week has been given a name befitting the wild ride he was taken on - Chase.
Police arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly put the 10-week-old Yorkie-poo in her purse Friday and took him from Petland in the Sun Ray shopping center. Isis Gladney and a relative later fled from store employees in a car and they pursued her, said Vanessa Rojas, Petland’s owner.
The 3-pound dog, which was valued at $1,299, is recovering, Rojas said Monday. Chase was apparently shaken up in Gladney’s large bag and got sick - he was covered in vomit when they got him back, Rojas said.
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“Especially because he’s such a new baby, that’s a ridiculous amount of stress,” said Rojas, adding the dog was in Gladney’s purse for about an hour before the car pursuit. Chase had arrived at the store two days before he was stolen.
Petland employees were familiar with Gladney because she had come in the store a couple of times a week to play with the store’s puppies and applied for a job within the last two weeks, Rojas said.
Since then, “she’d been here almost every day asking about her application,” Rojas said. They told her the store had just done a round of hiring, and they would keep her application on file.
Petland encourages people to play with the puppies and workers are usually attentive when customers do, but they may have let their guard down because they knew Gladney, Rojas said. She was working in the store’s office midafternoon Friday when she heard the dog was missing.
“I felt fear for that puppy,” Rojas said. “It’s almost a maternal instinct. Then, after we found the puppy, the anger set in.”
Rojas ran out to look for the pup, and then heard Gladney was the suspect and the store had her home address on file from her application.
Petland’s manager drove to Gladney’s St. Paul address, and watched as the young woman arrived, Rojas said. Rojas and another employee also arrived to help, but Gladney apparently saw the store’s manager. Gladney got in a vehicle driven by a relative and they left with the dog, Rojas said.
“That’s when the whole chase started,” Rojas said. The driver headed to Minneapolis, getting off and then back on Interstate 94 at various points, which Rojas thought was an attempt to lose the manager following them. The driver headed back to St. Paul.
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In the area of Marshall Avenue and Moore Street, Rojas said, she pulled ahead of the car and the store’s manager stopped her car behind them. They went up to the car and got the puppy.
Police arrived at the scene about 6 p.m. and arrested Gladney on suspicion of felony theft.
Gladney apologized for taking the dog but told police she felt sorry for him and wanted to take him home, police have said. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
Gladney was released from the Ramsey County Jail on Saturday as the police investigation continues; she has not been charged.
Chase needed to be taken to an animal hospital when he was found Friday - he was lethargic and hypoglycemia was setting in because he hadn’t had access to food and water, which is important for small puppies, Rojas said.
The store has received much interest from people who want to purchase him, but they’ll wait until he gets settled before letting him be adopted.
“He is a little skittish still and not eating as much as we’d like, so we’re monitoring him really closely,” Rojas said. “Right now he is getting absolutely spoiled rotten.”
The Pioneer Press is a media partner with Forum News Service
