West Palm Beach woman charged with stealing teacup Yorkie from pet store

A 43-year-old West Palm Beach woman is facing a grand theft charge after authorities say she stole a puppy valued at $4,500 from a pet store last week.

Melissa Strong ran out of Star Pups Inc. in suburban West Palm Beach with an 8-week old female teacup Yorkshire terrier on Thursday after she entered the store and asked to see some small dogs, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

A store employee told sheriff's investigators Strong was shown a few dogs after she made her request. Strong then asked if she could take an 8-week-old, black-and-tan Yorkie home to convince her husband to let her keep the puppy, deputies said.

The employee told Strong that she could not take the puppy without making a payment. While closing up the store for the evening, the employee saw Strong running out of the store with the Yorkie in her left arm, deputies said.

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Strong reportedly then got into a Mercedes-Benz with a California license plate and fled.

She was arrested Friday and released the same day on $3,000 bond. The puppy has been safely returned to the store.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman arrested, accused of stealing teacup Yorkie dog from pet store