Las Vegas man searches for stolen puppy after dog-napping at Palms casino
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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — By night, Gary Stout says he searches the streets of Las Vegas for any sign of his stolen puppy, stopping strangers and asking them for information.
It's been three weeks since the brazen theft of Danny, the 10-week-old Pomeranian puppy Stout shares with his girlfriend.
Stout says his girlfriend took Danny to the Palms Casino Resort — a favorite hangout for her and her friends — on June 28. The puppy was placed in a small, black dog carrier near his girlfriend's feet when an unknown man walked up and grabbed it.
It wasn't until Saturday afternoon, July 15, that Stout says he was shown the first images of the man suspected of stealing his puppy.
Stout says surveillance video from the casino shows the man carrying Danny outside and placing the puppy in the bushes, then walking away.
The thief returned approximately two hours later to retrieve the dog, walking in the general direction of the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino and the several apartment complexes situated behind it, Stout told Channel 13.
In a social media post Wednesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared photos of the suspected puppy thief.
Police say the man was last seen wearing a green hat, a white T-shirt and black pants.
Stout says he and his girlfriend planned to get Danny micro-chipped when he received his first shots but, at just 10 weeks, Danny was still too young to be vaccinated. They'd owned the dog for about a month before he was stolen.
It may have been three weeks since Danny was taken, but Stout says the couple haven't stopped looking.
Now, he fears the man may have sold Danny to another family who wouldn't have known where the dog came from. It could have fetched a nice chunk of change, Stout said, potentially adding a few thousand dollars to the thief's pocket.
Stout says he's been all over the valley searching for information about Danny.
"You know, we don't have any kids," he said. "That is my kid, in my eyes. Any true dog owner would understand it."
The couple are offering a reward of $1,000 for Danny's safe return — "no questions asked," Stout wrote in social media posts about the case.
Danny's fur is almost completely black, Stout says, except for a small white patch on his chest and the tips of his paws.
Anyone with information about the case can contact Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detectives at 702-828-2816. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com.
