Nanaimo family pleads for return of 4 stolen puppies

A Nanaimo family who had nine eight-week-old German shepherd puppies stolen from them are pleading for the return of four after five were recovered.

The nine puppies were stolen from Cassandra Skaland-Kolotylo's backyard around 3 a.m. Monday an incident that she says has traumatized her family.

"They are part of our family, and they got ripped away from us in the night."

Skaland-Kolotylo's 14-year-old daughter was awakened by-br a noise in the backyard and went to the deck to investigate.

She screamed when she saw three people, dressed in tuques and hoodies, running from the scene carrying the puppieseach weighing around 20 pounds before escaping in a dark-colouredSUV.

Skaland-Kolotylo said the thieves tried to make away with all 10 of their puppies but dropped one in their haste.

WATCH: German shepherd mom plays with her puppies:

Vancouver Island family, RCMP look for stolen puppies

1 year ago

Duration 0:11

The family from Nanaimo, B.C., who owns the litter seen here playing with their mother, is looking for four puppies they say were stolen from their backyard Monday morning.

Five puppies were returned to the family through the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on Tuesday. It is unknown how they were returned.

"I broke down," said Skaland-Kolotylo. "I dropped to my knees and just started bawling my eyes out at the SPCA."

The Nanaimo RCMP wrote in a Wednesday statement that it is looking for the remaining four dogs,Chunkers, Charlie, Asta, and Kenobe.

The familyis concerned for the puppies' health, as they are young and have not yet been vaccinated.

"They're put in such extreme danger," Skaland-Kolotylo said, adding the puppiescould be exposed to life-threatening diseases.

Part of the family

Skaland-Kolotylo says her children are devastated, having developed a close bond with the puppies, playingwith them every day.

One of the dogs was supposed to be a present for her eight-year-old son's birthday later this week.

The other dogs had been pre-sold for $1,000 eachand were almost ready to move in with their respective families, who regularly visited the puppies and were eagerly awaiting their arrival over the next week.

Skaland-Kolotylo is giving the returned dogs some time to be with their mother who she says has been extremely distressed before sending them off to their new families.

"They are living beings ...these puppies are being traumatized," said Skaland-Kolotylo.

"I don't know how to recover from this until all of these puppies are safely back."

Theft and potential animal abuse

Gary O'Brien with the Nanaimo RCMP says while dog thievery is not uncommon, it is unusual to see it on such a large scale.

"To have 10 stolen at the same time is extremely rare and brazen," said O'Brien.

O'Brien said the perpetratorscould be on the hook for theft over $5,000 or, if anything happens to the dogs, animal cruelty-related crimes.

"The sheer fact that somebody has taken it upon themselves to organize this, and there is a fair degree of organization required, that's troubling."

Police believe the dogs are still in town and are asking anyone with information to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.