Police are on the hunt for a woman who walked into a Washington, D.C., animal rescue shelter with two children and stole a 3-month-old kitten.
The baby kitten, named Princess Jazzy, still needed various medical tests and procedures before she was ready for adoption. The D.C. police department said the kitten was stolen from an adoption center run by the Washington Humane Society (WHS) Saturday afternoon, and has asked the public for help finding her.
An unidentified woman walked into the shelter with two children and asked workers about their selection of cats, the police said in the statement. While workers in the shelter were distracted helping other customers, the woman grabbed the kitten and walked out of the store without paying and fled the scene.
Help us find Princess Jazzy, who was stolen from our New York Avenue NE Adoption Center! https://t.co/pw9C21EzV6 pic.twitter.com/Z1EdC4DxBi
— Wash Humane Society (@Wash_Humane) April 25, 2016
“It is hard to believe that someone would commit such a crime,” Scott Giacoppo, chief community welfare officer for the rescue shelter, told NBC Washington. “In addition to breaking the law, they have put this kitten’s health in jeopardy by circumventing our easy adoption process, and denying the kitten needed medical care.”
The WHS is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the woman who stole the kitten.
Update: Police located and returned the kitten Tuesday. Staff at the shelter were able to write down the her license plate before she fled, which police used to track down the woman.
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