Puppy stolen from Oregon Humane Society minutes before adoption
»Play Video
PORTLAND, Ore. – Someone stole a three-month-old puppy from the Oregon Humane Society on Saturday.
The Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix named “John” was taken from a locked kennel at around 4:30 p.m., just minutes before he was about to go home with the family that adopted him, according to David Lytle with OHS.
"They were just heartbroken," said Lytle. "This is the holidays. They were looking forward to bringing a new member of the family home, and something like this happens."
The family was at the humane society filling out the adoption paperwork when they were told their new puppy was missing.
OHS is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
“We’re hoping that we can find the puppy and reunite him with the family who wanted to adopt him,” said OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon. “It’s heartbreaking to see something like this happen. The puppy was ready to go to his new home."
Lytle said they are looking for a person of interest. He's described as a white man in his early 40s who is about 5’6’’ tall with a thin build, light brown hair and a mustache.
"He was showing a lot of interest in this puppy," said Lytle. "We're trying to go through videotape to see if we can find a picture of him, which we don't have yet."
All staff members have keys to the lock on the kennel door.
"A determined thief can break into almost anything they want to break into," said Lytle. "It's not a bank vault here."
The family told KATU News they hope someone will see the puppy and come forward.
"Unfortunately, we think this person was motivated by drug money," said Lytle. "It might be for sale on a street corner in Portland right now somewhere."
OHS set up a new tip line to help find John. If you have any information, you're asked to call 503-802-6888.
Ok, I just looked at the mutt's picture again, and Ill be damned if I can see how a bunch of the posters can call him ugly. I think he is cute as can be!
Just heard on the scanner the puppy is about to be returned! Someone called or is at the Humane Society about returning it but wants to talk to the police first. Dunno if that means they are the ones that took it, or if they took it from someone who did. But yay!
 @pdx10 yay! Let's hope so!
Let us all send up prayers that this puppy is found safe and gets back to this family!
TW
That's a face not even a mother could love.
poorsob, ????
 @iamtroglodite A little 'Jethro Tull' in the offing, eh?
 @poorsob Not even remotely true.Â
They have so many dogs that they have to put some down, and now we are complaining because someone took one of them? How about we just move on, no real victim in this crime. Isn't the goal to find pets homes?
 @SR SR - you obviously don't have a clue about animal adoption. Go back in your hole.
 @SR Maybe because some poor kid just picked that pup out for a Christmas gift, turned around and it was gone?Â
 @SR OHS never puts animals down due to space restrictions. Please get your information right before posting.Â
I wonder what kind of batteries that thing takes?
I can't see a random druggie being clear of mind enough to walk into a public place FULL of people, pick a lock, and take a dog. There were multitudes of other puppies around and it's clear this is NOT a high quality purebred dog.Â
Â
Maybe someone who applied to adopt the dog and got denied? Wanted a pup for their kid for Xmas and couldn't afford it?Â
 @serenityslayer I'm wondering if perhaps they are the people the puppy was seized from in the first place?
They should be thankful. All those types of dogs do all day long is soil the carpet and yap....YAP! YAP-YAP-YAP!...YAP-YAP!...YAY-YAP-YAP!
Bush's fault
This comment has been deleted
 @HarryJuku Volunteer since you have so much time on your hands and want to make a difference, Hank - just don't load your gun...
This comment has been deleted
 @gunnutz I think the family had already spent some time visiting the pup and falling in love with him. Give them a break.
That puppy is adorable!!! Look at those little baby puppy eyes. My gosh he is cute. But also, here is a  red hot newsflash from Multnomah County Animal Shelter:
Multnomah County Animal Services is offering a "Home for the Holidays" adoption special from Dec 11th- 31st. All cats and dogs at the shelter can be adopted for just the cost of a license! That's $25 for dogs and $12 for cats. We're hoping that this adoption special will help us get as many homeless pets as possible into loving, forever homes for the holiday season. Is there anything better than snuggling up with a furry friend (or two) on a cold winter night?
Â
This is a HUGE savings $$$!! Here is why:Â
The fee to adopt a dog or cat includes the following services:
Spay or neuter surgery
Rabies vaccination
First set of shots
Health exam at the shelter
Health exam at a vet clinic
Microchip
Pet License
Felv/Fiv Test on cat adoptions
Â
Best of all, you save a life... get a new fuzzy friend who will love you unconditionally forever!
Â
@whirledworld I'm so tempted to adopt a dog.I prefer a older dog that I can give a good home to for it's last years/months.
 @noneofyourbizzness  @whirledworld There is an older girl out at MCAS right now. Her name is Annabelle And she is 12 years old. Check her out at multcopets.com.
@shellyshell71 @noneofyourbizzness @whirledworld OMG she was there a couple of months when I went there but the said someone is adopting her.I would like to get her but I'm dealing with severe back issues and I'm on morphine.Someone needs to adopt her though....we'll see how I feel before the 31 st.I know she's blind and deaf but she's a super sweet dog.
People shouldn't adopt dogs or cats for Christmas. It's best to wait until after Christmas. You never know if your loved ones wanted a dog or cat but have changed their minds? It's very sad. Hope they will find this puppy
 @Sunny do you know how many unwanted pets get put to death during the holidays because the shelters get slammed with surrenders and have no room for more pets?  People should adopt now esp. because the Multco Animall shelter is having a "prices slashed" discount on adoption of dogs and cats thru Dec. 31st. (see above)
 @Sunny Did you even read the article? The whole family was there and wanted the dog, it wasn't going to be a surprise for anyone.Â
 A dog as ugly as this one finds a home and someone steals him.  Makes no sense.  Maybe the thief is blind.
 @boomer ~  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, boomer...
boomer: Dogs and cats are like babies; even the ugly ones are cute. I bet if you were looking for a dog to be your friend (as these people were) and you walked in, saw this little mutt eyeballing you, it would be love @ first sight. Happens all the time!
Just had a visual in my head: A dog is about ready to be adopted, the new owner is outat the desk doing the paperwork, the dog in the next kennel says "What the hell, dude, why did you pick such ugly people to go home with?" "Oh, come on... they are all ugly till you get to know them!"
 @boomer Grinch. He's cute. And a new puppy with puppy eyes.
 @boomer He's adorable. You're probably jealous.
 @boomer Stop acting like the east end of a horse going west!
Â
 @BarbWire  @boomer I am going to steal that saying.... love it
 @Dangit  @boomer Thank you, I got that saying from my mom, have used it many times myself.Â
@boomer ....oh, real nice. Not much of a sympathetic compassionate sort, are you !
 @Rob C 503  @boomer scrooge
I wonder if the humane sociaty might be selling through the back door for a little exact cash. Â You cant trust the humane sociaty.
This sounds like an inside job. Follow the keys. The kennel was locked, the staff had keys. Connect the dots and stop looking for the one armed man.
 @Lost River Richard Kimble would have something to say to that!
Hopefully this comes down to a dad desperate to get a Christmas gift for his kids, and not a druggie.
happy holidays.
My wish this holiday season for the people that took him is that little johnny poops and pees all over their house.
 @DizzyDog then little Johnny will get beat for doing so. sad
 @DizzyDog They would probably beat him if they are druggies
This comment has been deleted
 @HarryJuku you can get another one for $12 til Dec. 31 with all the medical stuff done at the Multco Animal shelter. Save a life, increase your cat abundance.
This comment has been deleted
 @HarryJuku In other words, your cat is a direct reflection of its owner that cannot play well with others...
 @HarryJuku When my purebred Silky Terrier died I searched for a purebred Burmese cat to replace him since we had four of them when I was a kid and they can be trained just like a dog. The smartest domestic breed available and he wants to play 'fetch' right now...
 @boned  @HarryJuku ~  My younger cat plays "fetch"... she's a long-haired gold-and-white tabby... I didn't train her to do that; she already knew it when I brought her home (she was 3 months old then)...  she's just over 3 years old now - still plays "fetch" with me... plays "tag" with my older cat...  :-)
 @boned ~  Turns on a water faucet, huh?  Now that's something I've never seen a cat do, but I sure wouldn't be surprised if I DID see it..!  Cats are just sooo smart..!  Â
Re: outside noises and/or people coming up to the house... yes, both of mine will react to those... especially if someone knocks on the door. Â One time, my younger cat actually hissed - loudly! - when somebody knocked on the door after dark; she had her ears laid back flat and was staring right at the door...I figured it was a pretty good warning, so I didn't open the door... whoever it was went away after a few seconds...Â
 @margay1 This kitten is not even six months old and I taught him how to turn a faucet on when he wants water and waits by the front door to greet me. What is weird is that he reacts to noises outside and goes 'into alert mode' when anyone gets close to the house - that, he got on his own.
margay1; That is so funny, I had a cat that did that too! I would be laying in bed with my wife reading the paper and drinking coffee in the morning and, if IÂ quit paying him enough attention and not throw the ball, he would drop the little sponge ball in my coffee. Talk about a rude awakening! Damn, I miss Butthead :>(
This comment has been deleted
 @HarryJuku Harry, how much did you get for that post? Actually, my kitten retrieves my ammunition since the CAR-15 Bushmaster is locked behind two doors and a very large cement wall like the few weapons I have that were matched pairs of duty weapons - one big one, and one small one to hide as a back-up. Man, you gotta' lighten up and quite lumping ever gun-owner into the same pot that you seem to be in...