Woman Claims Daughter Is To Blame For Stealing Dog From MaxFund

DENVER (CBS4) - A stolen puppy has been returned to the shelter just days after it was taken in the middle of the day, but the thieves are still nowhere to be found.

The woman who returned the dog said she had no idea it was stolen.

Nick the dog was stolen from MaxFund animal shelter. He was returned Sunday morning and the employees couldn't be happier.

"It's wonderful. I mean seeing him walk through the door today was like it was a long lost family member," Chelsea Manschot with MaxFund said.

The person responsible for stealing the dog is just 17 years old, according to her own mother. The teen came into the kennel pretending to be a volunteer and grabbed the leash to take the dog out on a walk. She was actually stealing it not realizing that her actions were being caught on surveillance video. She gave the dog to her mother as a gift.

The girl's mother, who asked not to be identified, had been looking for a dog as a companion to help her deal with depression.

"My husband died … I just haven't been going out, doing anything. I basically sit in the house all the time. Getting the dog was a reason to go out for a walk," the woman said.

Once her daughter confessed to stealing the dog the concerned mother knew she had to return him.

"He wasn't ours. You don't just take something because you want it. You have to earn it," the woman said.

The woman's daugter hasn't come home since realizing she was caught. Her mother hopes she's okay.

"I love her and I'm going to kill her when she comes home."

They had already named him Roscoe, but Nick is now back at the shelter. As promised, MaxFund does not plan to press any charges.

MaxFund is considering giving the mother a different dog as a companion.

The woman believes her daughter is staying with her boyfriend who is also seen in the surveillance video.