Fears held for three stolen pups

If 2010 was the year of missing monkeys, Illawarra police are now investigating a Pomeranian pup heist.Velko Bozinovski's Cringila house was burgled on Thursday night, with thieves targeting three four-week-old pups worth close to $5000."They ignored a brand new DVD player still in the box and went straight for the pups," Mr Bozinovski's girlfriend, Wendy Boreland, said yesterday."We are really worried the pups [two females and a male] won't survive because they are so young and still taking milk from their mother."Velko's mother, who lives in the top half of the house, heard Chelsea [the pups' mother] crying on the road about 1am."She went to the flat and found the front door unlocked and all three pups were missing."The front door had been forced and the kennel was disturbed."Chelsea has been beside herself today and is constantly whining and unable to eat," Ms Boreland said."It's her first litter and she's been the best mother, constantly feeding them up and keeping them clean."We are appealing to whoever took them to at least drop them off to a vet or shelter, no questions asked."Wollongong vet Kevin Calleja said it was possible the pups could survive on hand-reared formula but "certainly their lives are at risk"."It will create a lot of stress for the puppies and their mother, who at this stage should be giving her pups valuable training in how to interact with other animals and humans," he said.Police said the crime was classified as stock theft.Sergeant Ray Beacroft of Lake Illawarra police command, said statistically, animal theft was a rare occurrence.In June last year, eight monkeys were stolen from Symbio Wildlife Gardens at Helensburgh. All but one were recovered.In October, a marmoset monkey named Cheeky was stolen from Nowra Wildlife Park but was later found unharmed.