Couple caught on video stealing Pomeranian from Naperville Petland

A 12-week-old Pomeranian puppy named Bella was stolen from the Naperville Petland Sunday evening, and the shop's owner is asking for the public's help in locating the small black and white dog.

A man and woman, who the store has on video surveillance camera, walked into Petland after 4 p.m. and asked to play with Bella, said the store's owner Carl Swanson.

An employee put the man, woman and Bella in a socialization room to play, and two different pet counselors checked in on the couple while they interacted with the dog, Swanson said.

"They waited until the employees were at the back of the store, walked out of the socialization room, stood around for a minute and walked out with Bella," Swanson said.

The store was "very busy" at the time, Swanson said, and nobody has a distinct memory of seeing the couple previously.

While Bella doesn't have any tags, she is microchipped so that if she ends up at a shelter, she can be scanned and returned to Petland. Bella is a purebred Pomeranian, and costs about $2,500.

Swanson, who has owned the Naperville Petland for about a year, says puppies were stolen from the store in 2013 and 2014.

"In both cases, the puppies were recovered," he said.

Anyone with information on Bella can contact Naperville police at (630) 420-8511.