Police are searching for a cold-hearted thief seen on camera stealing a popular breed of puppy from a 75-year-old man on a Queens sidewalk in broad daylight.
The video shows Alonso Gil's uncle out front of the family's home in South Ozone Park in the middle of the day, along with two dogs. One was a 10-month-old micro-bully, an extremely popular breed, named Off White — a designer dog named after a designer brand.
"It's weird to say because I know people look at it like, 'Oh, it's a dog.' But it's like a person to us, he's very much like a baby in the house," said Gil. "He is very sweet, very friendly, a little shy sometimes too. So he has his own personality and everything."
As Gil's uncle was outside with the dogs, a man on a scooter drove by and quickly was acting friendly, asking questions about Off White and if he could pet and hold the pup. After a few minutes, the owner turns to take the puppy inside — that's when the scooter driver made his move.
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"The starts petting the dog, pulling him up. Picks up the dog and starts revving his scooter to go," Gil said. "My uncle tried to jump in front of the scooter to stop the guy, but he just like swerved around him and took off on the sidewalk down the block."
The incident has shaken the community, as Off White had quickly captured the hearts of the family and everyone in the neighborhood.
"I'm really concerned. I get emotional every time I see that the dog is gone," said neighbor Felix Nunez, who live across the street and has a similar dog, Remy. "If somebody take my dog, it's gonna be hard for me. I would get emotional."
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The Gil family said they just want their puppy back.
"I understand at this point you might be afraid of getting in trouble or getting someone in trouble, but the dog can be dropped off at a park where there's people around. He can be dropped off at a police station, nobody has to see anything," said Gil.
The family is putting up their own cash reward, saying they just want their pet back, no questions asked.
