Stop the Presses! Thief Absconds with Cutest Puppy Ever!

Before sending updates about the search for the body of Yashanee Vaughn or the investigation of a teenager’s shooting outside Lloyd Center yesterday, the Portland Police Bureau also made sure to tell us what happened to this incredibly cute dog:

Daisy Mae Duke, an 11-week-old English bulldog, was plucked brazenly from outside the Safeway on MLK by a man who, as depicted by surveillance cameras, was so overcome by the dog’s adorableness after petting it, that he walked back over and snatched it. The cops sent out not only the picture of the dog, but also camera stills of the theft in progress, with a detailed description of the suspected thief. They’re even offering to have the dog’s owner make a statement. (Did you know that stealing a pet in Oregon is a felony? Yeah, me neither.)

It seemed like a bit much—especially in light of the other two releases that followed it. So I called police spokesman Sergeant Pete Simpson to find out the last time a stolen dog warranted this kind of all-points bulletin. He said it pretty much rarely happens—most of the time it’s too hard to prove a dog didn’t just run away.

So why this time? “Because there would be a lot of interest in it. It’s one of those stores that’ll get re-tweeted.” And, Simpson said, it’s not often investigators let the bureau’s PR officers send out surveillance photos.

I was still skeptical, but he reassured me: Even “an ugly dog would get the same treatment.”

Portland Police Bureau detectives need the public’s help in identifying a suspect that stole a puppy outside a Northeast Portland grocery store.

On April 11, 2011, at approximately 2:40 p.m., a man took an 11-week-old English Bulldog puppy that was tied up outside the Safeway store, located at 5920 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

A friend of the dog’s owner walked to Safeway and tied the puppy up out front and was in the store for a few minutes but when he came out, the dog was gone. Surveillance video shows the suspect walk up to the dog, pet it, then walk away. The suspect then comes back and unties the dog and picks it up before quickly walking out of sight eastbound on Northeast Ainsworth Street.

The suspect is described as a black male, 25-40 years old, 5’06”- 5’8″, medium complexion, wearing a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt, a white t-shirt, a maroon baseball cap with a yellow or gold bill, and light colored blue jeans.

The puppy, named “Daisy Mae Duke”, is brown and white in color wearing a black collar with red paw prints.

Under Oregon law, theft of a companion animal is a Class C Felony.

Anyone with information about the suspect or Daisy Mae Duke’s whereabouts is urged to contact Sergeant Scott Montgomery at (503) 823-5796.

Media interested in an owner’s interview should email Sgt. Pete Simpson as the owner might be available to make a statement.