Cash, pit bull puppies stolen after thief shoots door open at Albany Humane Society

ALBANY – A Tuesday-night break-in at the Albany Humane Society, during which an intruder made entry by firing shots at the exterior door and took a cash box and three puppies, has been reported by the organization.

Another twist to the theft is that a foster guardian for the three puppies, who lives in Nashville, Ga., had them transported to Albany after being approached at her residence. The puppies were moved to Albany because the foster guardian felt uncomfortable after the visit.

The forced entry occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, AHS Development Director Sam Threadgill said. A staff membe,r alerted by the shelter’s video surveillance system, called police and drove to the scene.

One of the bullets fired into the door penetrated the lobby wall and traveled into the next room in the facility, Threadgill said. She estimated that between $700 and $1,000 in cash were taken, along with one male and two female pit bull terrier-mix puppies that are about 10 weeks old.

“It’s discouraging for anybody to do this to an organization only trying to help animals in the community,” Threadgill said.

During the visit to the Nashville guardian’s home, the men who were there were on the phone with a third person and gave details about the dogs, including that they were being taken to Albany, AHS officials said.

The intruder on Tuesday walked past other animals in the facility’s cat and puppy room and took only the three pit bull/terrier puppies.

“We want the puppies safe and returned; we want the people caught, and now we’re incurring extra expenses to fix the door and repair the damage,” Threadgill said. “That’s hundreds of dollars that were meant to help these animals. We not only don’t have these donations now, we have another cost.”

AHS employee Payton Jarrell encouraged the public to alert police or the shelter if they encounter the stolen animals.

“We’re asking the public to keep an eye out on social media and also at (veterinarian) offices for these puppies coming in,” she said.

Special Photo: AHSSpecial Photo: AHS

Special Photo: AHS