Alert issued for stolen Chihuahua puppy Chi Chi

VIRGINIA BEACH

A man who said he wanted to buy a dog at Puppyville in Virginia Beach ended up stealing a Chihuahua puppy from the store on Tuesday, a store manager said.

Virginia Beach police are investigating and asked the store for a surveillance video that shows a man taking Chi Chi, the Chihuahua, from the Puppyville store at 4300 Holland Road, assistant manager Beverly Sumner said.

The man went to the store about 12:30 p.m. and said he was interested in buying a dog for his sister, Sumner said. Employees took out Chi Chi and the man played with him. He then went outside to talk to a woman in a car.

When he came back in, he walked around with the puppy, Sumner said, then casually disappeared with Chi Chi when employees were not looking.

“We’re very concerned about the dog’s well being, and we would like to get him back,” Sumner said. “Everybody misses him. His little friends miss him too.”

Chi Chi isn’t cheap. He was for sale for $1,600, which had been reduced to $1,200. He arrived at Puppyville on May 3.

The man in the store is described as black, in his early 20s, with a pierced lip and a red-and-black heart tattoo under his left eye, according to a news release from HelpmefindMYPET.com, a microchip manufacturer that acts as an “Amber Alert” system for dogs with microchips. He wore large, leopard-print sunglasses and a green, striped hoodie.

Because Chi Chi has a microchip, he will be shown as stolen if anyone takes him to a veterinarian.

“If the guy that stole it tries to sell it to anyone else, he’s not going to be able to,” said Jessica Staton, a spokeswoman for HelpmefindMYPET. “We have an 87 percent success rate for microchipped dogs.”

The company sent out a photo alert to animal shelters, vets and pet professionals within 50 miles of Puppyville.

Anyone with information may call HelpmefindMYPET at (866) 600-3463.