Woman Arrrested for Shoplifting Puppy from Pet Store with her Daughter

Last night, the attached video was posted on the Iowa City Press-Citizen website showing the suspect from a February 10, 2013, shoplifting incident at the Iowa City Petland. The video shows the suspect in the store with her daughter and their dachshund.


The Petland owner described the situation for the Press-Citizen:

Solsrud said the woman and her daughter... came into Petland, 1851 Lower Muscatine Road, on Feb. 10. After looking at various animals for about 20 minutes, they asked to see a golden miniature poodle puppy. The woman and her daughter also had their own dachshund puppy with them.

After a store employee helped get the poodle for the woman, she and her daughter went to an area of the store not easily viewed on the store’s security system. About 10 minutes later, they appeared on the camera again. “You could see them walk across the front of the store casually,” Solsrud said. “They had the puppy concealed. They paused at the door and then walked out the door.”

It wasn’t long before employees noticed the puppy was missing, Solsrud said. An internal investigation was conducted and the police were notified.

After this story got posted on the Press-Citizen website, the Iowa City Police Department received numerous tips, which led to an arrest. KCJJ has the scoop:

KCJJ has identified the mother as 46-year-old Diana Rae Chance of the Clear Creek manufactured housing community. The puppy was recovered Friday and returned to Petland unharmed. Charges against Chance are pending.

It's amazing how quickly this story went from tip-seeking to arrest -- within hours for this case of accused shoplifting. If only this other dog-related case could advance as quickly!