4th stolen Husky puppy returned to Hampton couple; 2 still missing

A fourth newborn Husky puppy stolen from a Hampton pet salon this week has been returned to its mother, while two puppies remain missing, according to the dogs’ owner.

The fourth puppy, a female, was returned Sunday, said Bandi Murdock, who owns the dogs and the Critter Cleaners pet salon. Six puppies were stolen from the pet salon during an early Friday morning burglary.

A woman contacted Hampton police Sunday to report she’d taken the puppy from her boyfriend and wanted to get it back to its owners, Murdock said.

“She said her boyfriend got it off some guy for 50 bucks,” Murdock said. “That’s all she said.”

Officers agreed to meet the woman at Darling Stadium on Victory Boulevard because she was afraid to go to a police station, Murdock said. They had an Animal Control employee there to make sure the puppy was okay before handing it over to its owners.

Murdock said she and her husband paid the woman a $100 reward and then quickly rushed the puppy back to its mother, Nala.

“Everybody’s doing great,” Murdock said of the recovered puppies and their mother. “They were all very hungry, but they’re all doing good.”

The puppies were just 13 days old when a man broke into the pet salon, located on West Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, around 1:30 a.m. Friday. Surveillance footage showed the man fixing a meal for himself, watching TV, taking a shower in the dog bathing area and ransacking the shop before ripping the security cameras out about 3 a.m., Murdock said. He also took money from a tip jar and cash register, she said.

Police arrested Ronald Jackson, 50, on Saturday and charged him with breaking and entering and several felony theft charges. Jackson is homeless, police said.

Two of the puppies were found that same day in a home where an acquaintance of Jackson’s lives. A third was returned by a woman who told Murdock she paid $100 for it. Murdock said she reimbursed the woman.

The puppies — five females and one male — need to be nursed by their mother until they’re at least four weeks old, so it’s critical that they be returned immediately to Nala, Murdock said.

Anyone with information about the two other missing puppies is asked to contact Hampton Police at 757–727–6111 or the Crime Line at 1–888-LOCK-U-UP.

Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com