PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Humane Society (OHS) said a puppy has been found after being taken from its cage at the Portland shelter Monday night.
On Tuesday evening, OHS confirmed Fireball, a female lab and pit bull mix that weighs approximately 10 pounds and is a little over 2 months old, was back.
"We are so grateful to Portland Police Bureau for their help in getting her back to us. We also appreciate all the tips we received from the public," the organization said, sharing a photo of Fireball with the Oregon Humane Society's admissions supervisor.
Surveillance video showed a group of young people entering the shelter around 7 p.m. One male was then seen grabbing the puppy from its cage and placing it under his shirt. He then ran out of the shelter and appeared to meet back up with the group in a parking lot before driving off.
“We had four people come into our shelter and walk around for a fair amount of time until they came into one of our public viewing pod areas, where they exploited a moment where a padlock was unlocked from Fireball's kennel, and they opened the door, reached in and stole her," said Tiffini Mueller, the chief advancement officer at the Oregon Humane Society.
She said the padlock was unlocked because OHS was about to close, and the kennels were in the process of being cleaned.
Police confirmed they returned the puppy after receiving information about where Fireball was, a few hours after the Oregon Humane Society reported her stolen.
The parent of one of the teenagers involved had called police and arranged the return.
The nonprofit had previously offered a $500 reward for tips that led to a safe return of the puppy and a conviction.
"As you can imagine, our priority is to get Fireball back into our care as soon as possible," OHS said at the time.
Portland police said the investigation is ongoing, and no charges had been referred to the juvenile justice court as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We do hope there's some justice served here. I'm not sure what type of charges are appropriate, but we trust the authorities to sort that out," said Mueller.
While Fireball is not currently up for adoption as of Wednesday due to the ordeal and to allow her time to rest, Mueller said she will be soon.
Those interested in adopting should go to the Oregon Humane Society's website.
