- Do you know the dognapper? Email: shannon.mcguigan@mailonline.co.uk
This is the horrifying moment this pet was brazenly snatched from its owner’s front garden in broad daylight.
Fluffy, a three-year-old Chihuahua, was innocently playing with other dogs when she was stolen from her home in Chapeltown, Sheffield.
Her owner, Josh Fothergill, had only had his eyes off the dog for a few minutes when a brazen thief snatched her up at around 6pm last Wednesday.
CCTV footage captured the woman interacting with the pets, before coaxing the pair to move closer to a lower fence.
Then, surprisingly, he grabs the helpless Fluffy, stuffs the dog under his jacket, and quickly sets off.
Fluffy, a three-year-old Chihuahua, was innocently playing in her owner’s front garden when she was snatched by a brazen thief.
The woman encouraged the dogs to approach a lower fence outside the house in Chapeltown, Sheffield (pictured)
The Chihuahua’s heartbroken owner, Mr Fothergill, initially thought Fluffy had gone exploring when he couldn’t find her in the garden.
She went looking for him at a nearby church graveyard without success, but when she returned home CCTV images confirmed her worst fears.
“I looked at the cameras and the lady walked up to the fence, petted her, gave her something and then walked to the other top end of the fence,” he said.
“It looked like he was trying to climb over the fence, but there is a fence there to prevent that from happening.”
He said he could see an individual, who he believes to be the attacker’s boyfriend, waiting behind the wall out of camera range.
Mr Fothergill added: “She came back down and started bothering her again. She gave him something, you could see, she gave him something.”
‘Then these girls came by and petted her, and they walked on and she climbed up to the top and petted the dog over the fence.
The brazen thief quickly stuffed the dog under her jacket before speedily escaping (pictured). Owner Josh Fothergill is devastated and is now appealing to the public for more information.
‘The next minute she grabs it, gives it to her boyfriend, the boyfriend wraps it in a coat. Then you see him walk with the object under his arm as he passes by her.’
The devastated owner is now appealing for anyone with information to come forward in the hope of being reunited with her beloved pet.
He spent all Thursday morning collecting CCTV footage in an attempt to get a clear view of the woman and man in question.
By making the video public, he hopes someone can identify the dog thief.
MailOnline has contacted South Yorkshire Police for comment.
(tags to translate)dailymail