Dognapped! Rescue offers $1,000 for return of puppy stolen at Wake fundraiser

A local pet rescue group is offering $1,000 for the return of a puppy stolen from a fundraising event on Sunday.

Pawfect Match Rescue and Rehabilitation held a holiday auction at Niche Wine Bar in Holly Springs, where they say a man and a woman stole a 10-week-old, pitbull-mix named Miss Percy.

The theft occurred just before 6 p.m., the Holly Springs Police Department said in an emailed statement.

In surveillance footage acquired from local businesses, police and the rescue say a woman can be seen picking up Miss Percy and walking out of the door. In a separate clip, they say the woman gets into a car as it pulls up to the curb, driving off with the puppy.

“I was shocked,” said Debbie Sandlin, a board member of the rescue group. “She’s a 10-week-old puppy. She hasn’t had her vaccines yet. She’s not been spayed yet.”

The couple who took Miss Percy spoke to volunteers during the event and asked about adopting her that day, she said. But the rescue told them it did not do same-day adoptions, and said they would have to apply.

Within roughly 10 minutes, Sandlin said surveillance footage shows them leave, then the woman return and takes the puppy.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I couldn’t believe somebody had managed to get away with it.”

Sandlin described Miss Percy, whom she fostered, as “just the sweetest thing.”

“She loves to give kisses and snuggle up on your neck and play with toys, or play with her siblings,” she said. “A little more shy than some of her littermates — but oh my God, she’s sweet.”

The gray and white puppy remained missing as of Wednesday afternoon.

But the community has rallied in support of Pawfect Match, Sandlin said.

“We have been overwhelmed with the support that we’re getting,” she said. “Our little community is strong.”

Holly Springs police have asked for the community’s help in identifying the suspects, whom the department said were last seen traveling south on Main Street in a white Honda Accord.

Anyone with information can contact investigators at 919-567-4737 or the rescue at pawfectmatch@gmail.com and 919-345-8899.

“We need Miss Percy back,” Sandlin said. “There’s a family with two little kids, waiting for Miss Percy to be there at Christmas.”

“It’s just wrong.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 5:27 PM.