Cops took a bite out of a heartless dog thief on Friday after a citizen detective spotted the perp Chihuahua-handed.
Dog rescuers at the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition in Williamsburg told police that someone posing as a would-be dog adopter entered the shelter on Wythe Avenue near N. First Street on Thursday afternoon, but left without saving a life.
Only later did shelter workers realize that the woman had stuffed Edith — a sweet, 12-year-old fur ball with heart disease — into a bag before fleeing.
But she left a critical clue, having signed in as “Nicole” on the shelter ledger.
And the next day, this bird-brained dognapper brought the pup to a nearby Laundromat — even after BARC workers had papered the neighborhood with “Stolen Dog” fliers offering a $1,000 reward.
Carly Rabalais, a friend of the shelter, walked into the Laundromat and realized that she was face-to-face with the most cold-blooded of thieves. Rabalais sent a picture of the dog to BARC employees, along with a text that read:
“Is this the stolen dog?”
The answer — Yes! — prompted the shelter to call the cops, who staked out the thief’s Berry Street apartment, where she was, appropriately enough, collared.
BARC employees are still saying “Ay, caramba” over the Chihuahua caper.
“She was stupid — not a lot of people would steal a dog, sign our ledger and stay in the neighborhood,” said BARC rescuer Robert Vazquez. “These people are usually junkies who don’t want to pay and think it’s not right for dogs to be at the shelter. I guess the $150 adoption fee is worth a lot of s—t to shoot in your arm.”
Edith is now on a doggy vacation, reuniting with her previously “devastated and heartbroken” canine pal, Archie.
“We’re happy they’re together,” Vazquez said. “That said, we will prosecute.”
