One of three puppies stolen during a break-in at an animal shelter in Atlanta, Georgia, during the week was found safe on Saturday and is now back at the shelter.
The burglary at PAWS Atlanta in Dekalb County occurred early Friday morning. Employees monitoring security cameras noticed a person in a hoodie walking suspiciously around the shelter before hearing the sound of breaking glass. The employees called the police and rushed to the shelter.
When the employees arrived, they found a smashed window and a rock. They also noticed open animal crates.
Three dogs were taken from the shelter — two puppies named Violet and Emilia and a toy Yorkie named Princeton. The Yorkie was about to be adopted.
ATLANTA PUPPIES STOLEN FROM ANIMAL SHELTER, EMPLOYEES SAY THREE DOGS WERE TAKEN
But on Saturday, PAWS Atlanta announced on Facebook that Emilia had been found. The post said a shelter volunteer spotted a photograph on the Nextdoor app that "strongly resembled" one of the missing puppies.
"The dog had been wandering, scared, in someone's yard for a few hours," the shelter wrote. "The volunteer contacted PAWS Atlanta staff who immediately drove to the location and determined that it was, indeed, Emilia!"
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Emilia suffered a few scratches and was hungry, but was otherwise unharmed. The shelter does not believe the person who located the puppy had anything to do with the break-in.
"It's possible that, because Emilia was rescued from a neighborhood only a short distance from the shelter, she may have escaped from the man who stole her after being taken," the post read. "It's also possible that he lives in the area, but we can't say anything for sure at this time."
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PAWS Atlanta said rescuing Emilia gives them hope they will be able to find the other two puppies safe as well. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to their safe return.
