Tips are pouring in to a Centennial pet shop with clues that may uncover the whereabouts of two purloined English Bulldog puppies taken Friday afternoon.

The owners of Perfect Pets at South University Boulevard and Arapahoe Road are hoping store surveillance video will jog someone’s memory, or that the suspects will be recognized, and the puppies will be returned safely.

Store manager Bianca Rose said she has not stopped crying since the puppies were rudely shoplifted. She said the incident started when three men wandered in and spent 30 minutes casing the store, “possibly waiting for customers to leave.”

The footage shows one of the men faked a seizure while the other ambled over to his fallen accomplice, appeared concerned about him, but then walked away.

As people dialed 911 for medical help, the sound of the animals barking and crying can be heard over the video as the alleged dog thief walked to a back area, opened a cage of bulldog pups, grabbed two of them, and headed for the door.

As he scrambled out the front door, the video showed a chaotic scene. Store clerk Nicole Larosa tripped the suspect, but as he stumbled, he kicked her in the face, dropped a plump puppy, and scooped it back up by the scruff of the neck as he exited, the video showed.

Two of the men took off in a gold Cadillac Escalade driven by a female suspect with no license plates, Rose said. The one who was faking the seizure was arrested. Timothy Davis, 37, faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony, theft, and drug possession.

Rose said that as the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s deputies took Davis away, what appeared to be “a crack pipe fell out of his pocket.”

The dog-stealing operation from the seizure to the escape took just one minute.

Larosa said the store is getting so many tips, it’s hard to discern which ones are valuable. There was one sighting of a man selling the puppies on the side of a road, but the whereabouts are unclear and neither one has been returned.

Perfect Pets sells the bulldog puppies for $4,299 each.

Dog theft on the rise

The American Kennel Club reports that dog thefts are up 40% and that most of the time the animals are never recovered. Smaller breeds like Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, and French and English Bulldogs are often stolen because they’re easy to carry off, the AKC says.

Adele Marshall knows the sinking feeling of losing a vulnerable puppy to dog thieves. The owner of Tank R Tots had a female bulldog puppy stolen from her Colorado business by a supposed prospective buyer who came to the door, appeared ready to buy a puppy, and ran off with it. A week-and-a-half later a woman noticed a man bragging about his new English Bulldog puppy, which fit the description of Marshall’s animal.

The woman had seen a news story about the puppy being stolen.

Ruby Jewel is now 12 years old and sits at Marshall’s side as she tells the story.

“What brought her back to us were the news reports,” she said. “I was so sick to my stomach. When she was returned we sat on the sidewalk with her and cried.”

Marshall never lets her puppies go outside alone and it’s never happened again.

Sadly, for Perfect Pets this is the second puppy stolen from the store this month. Dog thieves have been creative. On Feb. 12, a woman stole a puppy by hiding it in a baby stroller, according to Rose.

Because Perfect Pets sells its English Bulldog puppies for $4,299, the theft of the animal is a class 6 felony in Colorado. The penalty can include 12-to-18 months in prison, parole, and possibly a fine.

Rose is offering $4,000 for the safe return of both puppies and with information which leads to the arrest of two at-large suspects.

Deputies are still searching for the other three suspects. One of them is a black male who was wearing a large black coat and sweatpants. The other is a white or Hispanic male who was wearing a blue and white beanie-style hat and had brown hair. There is no description of the female who drove the getaway Escalade.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the puppies or the three suspects who are at large, please call the Arapahoe County Sheriff Investigations Tipline at (720) 874-8477. You can remain anonymous.