Three puppies stolen from a New Brunswick dog breeder have been returned, safe and sound.
“We’re really lucky to have them home. We’re really lucky that they’re okay,” said Kim Wilson.
READ MORE: ‘We’re really worried about them’: 3 puppies stolen from New Brunswick dog breeder
The three dogs were taken from their kennels at a barn on Wilson’s Farm, a dog breeder in Estey’s Bridge, between 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3.
RCMP put out an appeal for information publicly on Thursday, saying the puppies had not been weaned and could get sick or die if they weren’t returned soon.
By Friday morning at 2:45 a.m., the puppies were back with the Wilsons.
“The puppies appear to be doing fine. We fed them at quarter-to-three in the morning, put them back in with their mother, gave them some alone time with their mother and everyone appears to be absolutely fine,” said Wilson.
“We are very thankful for the public’s concern and efforts to try and share the information and to look for them.”
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RCMP confirm the puppies were found with assistance from the public. They say no arrests have been made, but the investigation is continuing.
Wilson says the family had put forward a cash reward for information about the puppies — a Chihuahua and two Havanese-Maltese mixes — and plans to pay the people who offered up information.
Two of the puppies had already been sold before they were stolen, but had not gone to their owners yet because they were too young.
Wilson says the cost of each puppy is $1,000 plus taxes.
The business received a lot of social media backlash as news of the theft spread, and Wilson plans to forward some of the comments to police because she considers them cyberbullying.
“Everybody comes in and meets us and sees the facility and if it wasn’t very nice, they wouldn’t be comfortable buying,” she said.
“Nobody likes the idea of a puppy mill, but that’s not what this is. We’ve been here 22 years. We’re licensed by the NBSPCA … as is the law in New Brunswick.”
According to the New Brunswick SPCA, all establishments in the province that raise dogs for sale must undergo an annual inspection and obtain a license through them.
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