Man swipes pug in Largo, pushes puppy down his pants

LARGO (FLA) -– In the annals of puppy theft, is there any technique more crafty than stuffing a brown pug puppy down your pants?

That's exactly what a man did in a Largo pet store Monday -– in front of a surveillance camera.

According to Largo police, three or four men, a woman, and a child walked into All About Puppies pet store at 7190 Ulmerton Road. They hovered around the puppy-filled cages. Then one man grabbed hold of the brown pug.

Retail value: $900.

He put it in his shirt at first, according to police, but then he looked for a better place to conceal it.

The unnamed man tried farther south, stowing the dog in the front of his pants.

Then he left the store. The group followed.

All told, the theft took six minutes.

But the puppy is implanted with a tracking chip, according to police, so next time it goes to the vet it will be recognized as stolen.