BOWDOIN

An 8-week-old puppy stolen from a shop in Oxford was found safe in Bowdoin Monday afternoon, and the woman who allegedly took the puppy has been issued a summons charging her with theft.

The Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix, known as a Cockerpoo, was reported missing from Mainely Puppies to Oxford Police at around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to Sgt. Alan Coffin.

Coffin said the security footage was released to television news channels, which led to some tips and to police charging a woman with theft.

Responding to a request for assistance from Oxford Police, Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Department Chief Deputy Brett Strout and Deputy Matt Shiers went to retrieve the animal at a home on Main Street in Bowdoin.

Strout said the suspect wasn’t home, but a family member handed the animal over to the officer.

Coffin couldn’t provide the name of the woman charged with taking the puppy, but the Sun Journal reported that police issued a court summons to Julie Rogers, 44, of Bowdoin, charging her with theft.

Steve Mason, owner of Mainely Puppies, said he was shocked Saturday when he realized someone had taken a puppy.

“I was kind of befuddled as to what the heck happened to it,” he said.

Mason said he regularly makes rounds checking on the cages. It had been a busy day, so when he noticed the Cockerpoo pup wasn’t in his cage, he searched the area to see if the animal was out of its cage. The puppy wasn’t to be found, so he examined footage from his security camera system and saw a woman stuffing the puppy down her jacket.

“You could see it plain as day, so I immediately called the police,” he said.

After he released video to the media and on Facebook, “I received several calls from people that said they knew who it was and where the puppy was,” he said.

Mason said he was told that a family member of Rogers had posted a picture of the puppy on social media.

Mainely Puppies offers primarily small breeds of dogs and many of them are not cheap. The asking price for the Cockerpoo puppy was $750. Mason said while the puppies can be expensive, it’s no excuse to steal one.

“I bend over backwards; I do layaway plans,” he said. “I work seven days a week, 365 days a year. I’ve been here six years and I haven’t missed a day.”

Mason offered a $200 cash reward to the first person who provided a tip leading to the arrest of the woman who took the puppy and the return of the puppy. Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Mason said he was ready to write a check to a person he said was able to tell him where to find both the puppy and the suspect.

This is the first theft of a puppy from the business. Mason had received deposits down already on all four of the Cockerpoo pup’s siblings, but he will hold on to the puppy to make sure he doesn’t develop any health issues after the ordeal.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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