'Baffling' Dog-Napping in Sterling

A real-life Cruella de Vil nabbed nine puppies from Sterling Animal Shelter Wednesday night, and police are searching for clues in the puzzling crime. Two of the stolen puppies are shown at left.

Leigh Grady, the shelter's executive director, said that when she arrived at work this morning the side door was kicked in and nine puppies were missing, ranging in age from 10 to 14 weeks.

“This morning when I came into the kennel, it was pretty quiet, like they knew something was going on and they were traumatized,” she said.

Grady immediately called police, who took photographs and dusted for fingerprints.

Police Chief Gary Chamberland said police don’t have any idea of who the thief could be, and the department’s best lead was a stolen vehicle that had been abandoned in the area.

Police have reached out to nearby police departments and animal control units, asking people to keep an eye out for the dogs. But, he said, for this type of case, there's no set procedure.

“I’ve never seen this number of dogs taken from a shelter,” said Chamberland. “I would say it’s kind of unusual.”

Neither Grady nor Chamberland could think of any motive for the theft of the mixed-breed dogs.

Staff at the shelter are particularly concerned because all of the puppies were spayed and neutered Wednesday and are in need of medication. Grady is personally offering a $1,000 reward for their return – no questions asked.

“We just want to make sure they’re OK,” she said. “We’re all pretty upset and devastated.”

Anyone with information on the puppies is urged to call the Sterling Animal Shelter at 978-422-8585 or Sterling Police at 978-422-7331.