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CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Two men accused of stealing puppy from pet store in Orange Park Mall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Deputies with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office are looking for two men accused of stealing a puppy worth roughly $2,700 from a local pet store. The incident was caught on camera.

Action News Jax obtained security video of the incident at BFF Puppies in the Orange Park Mall.

The video shows what appears to be the two men taking the puppy out of the cage and one appears to distract an employee in the middle of the day. It all happens within three-to-four minutes when the videos show the accused men huddle around one of the cages, open the sliding door and take the puppy.

According to the owner of the store, the puppy is microchipped. If it gets taken to the vet it will get flagged.

It’s unclear if anyone else in the store saw this happen, but the video shows it was packed when it happened. Once the man holding the puppy left, it appears as if the man who distracted the front desk worker did as well.

Action News Jax spoke with Adam Sugalski, who is the executive director of One Protest, an animal advocacy group. He says in these situations there are usually only a few reasons why this happens.

“I’m assuming they’re making money off of it but they also could be trying to find another dog like that for backyard breeding, or they want for personal use but that’s a big gamble getting arrested if you basically have it as a pet,” Sugalski said.

More photos were given to Action News Jax from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, deputies say it shows the men outside the Orange Park Mall with the puppy and in a white SUV that deputies say they got away in.

If you’ve seen them, call Deputy Harris with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office at 904-264-6512 or email amharris@claysheriff.com.

To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS and receive a possible reward of up to $3,000.

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