This is the gut-wrenching moment dognappers break into a van to steal a beloved poodle fresh from a grooming session.
CCTV captured Smalia, a nine-month-old brown poodle, being wrapped in a coat and bundled into a grey saloon by a man wearing a face mask and baseball cap to avoid detection.
The thieves struck moments after the dog’s owner Gintare Bajalyte, 36, had parked her shop’s delivery van in a cash-and-carry car park in Eley Road, Edmonton on Wednesday at 10.30am.
The silver car appeared to tail the large white van into the parking lot reversing into the next space mere seconds after Ms Bajalyte closes and locks the front door.
It is believed the dognapper used a replica key fob with an electronic signal to easily unlock the van then made their getaway with the dog.
Gintare Bajalyte said she couldn’t bring herself to watch the CCTV footage as it was “too heartbreaking”.She returned to the scene on Tuesday to appeal for witnesses directly. She told the Standard: “I can’t even look at the footage it’s so painful. I went back to the car park and all the memories came back again like it happened again just now.
“I hate that place because that’s where it happened. It’s just so horrible coming home and she is not there to greet me, or wake me up in the morning.
“I’m still really weak. I don’t have words I just want someone to help me or maybe they saw her. My eyes are full of tears I can’t stop crying.”
In a message to the thieves, the devastated mother-of-one told The Standard: “I just want to pay them, if it’s about money, don’t worry. I just want her back. She’s our little girl.”
The 9-month-old poodle was stolen but £400 in coins had been left on the back seat of the van, her heartbroken family revealed.
Ms Bajalyte said she couldn’t stop screaming when she returned to the car to find Smaila missing and fainted as she reported the theft at the police station.
She added: “She will be so scared without us. I can’t stop thinking about whether she is cold, if she is eating, or how she is being treated.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Officers are investigating after a dog was stolen from a van while it was parked outside a commercial premises in Eley Road, Edmonton.
“The incident took place on Wednesday, 30 March at around 10.30am. The dog is a nine month old poodle.”
Anyone who witnessed the theft or who has information about the whereabouts of the dog that was stolen should call 101 with the reference 5208887/22.
Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555 111.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Smaila you can make contact with the owners by clicking here.
