Thieves Caught on Video Stealing 6-Year-Old Burn Victim's Beloved Pug
Ellis Barrett is a 6-year-old boy who had multiple surgeries earlier this year after a terrible accident with scalding water. Peaches is the treasured pug puppy who comforted him when he came home from the hospital in February. This is a video of some jackholes in pink tracksuits chasing down and stealing Peaches.
"He's devastated she's gone and all we want is to find her," Ellis's mom, Lucy Swift, told the Daily Mail.
The family has started a Facebook page seeking any information about the 7-month-old pug, who was taken from their home in Batley, West Yorkshire. West Yorkshire police are also investigating.
Peaches was not yet microchipped—she was too small during her first vet visit—which may make the search more difficult.
"I'm so gutted that she isn't microchipped but when we took her to the vets for her injections the vet said she was too small at the time," Swift told the Yorkshire Post.
The puppy is described as a diva who likes to sit around in a pram, but she's also Ellis's best friend, even getting in the bath with him. Swift added that Peaches also has a medical condition, making it even more urgent that she be returned home.
Dog theft has been on the rise in the U.K.—and reportedly becoming more organized—over the past five years.