JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A puppy stolen from a local pet store is safe and back where it belongs.
Action News Jax first showed surveillance video of the suspected thief Sunday night. We've now learned the woman is now arrested, according to the pet store owner.
The woman is accused of stealing the dog while two kids watched.
Employees at Puppies Galore and More said the woman stole a female Cocker Spaniel puppy worth $1,100 on Saturday morning.
Employees tell us the woman told a little boy to put the puppy inside her purse as she acted as the lookout.
Store owner Marsha Kello said the woman is in jail and the puppy is back where she belongs because of our coverage.
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Puppies Galore and More employees said a man who saw our report spotted the woman with the puppy and called police.
Kello said the woman claimed she didn't know the puppy was in her purse.
"She says that she didn't even know that the puppy was with them. When she left the store, she found the puppy in her purse. She didn't know the puppy was stolen and that her children had stolen the puppy. Which we know that's not true, because on our video, it shows her instructing her children on how to steal puppy and put the puppy in her purse," Kello said.
The theft has led to a policy change at this local business. The store now won't allow anyone to bring large purses inside the store anymore and it will continue to use its surveillance video.
We looked into the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office jail logs and there is a woman who was arrested matching the charges the store owner described. We aren't giving the arrested woman's name, pending JSO confirmation.
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