MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee family is pleading for help after their two puppies were stolen from outside their home near 14th and Washington Street on Saturday morning.
The family reached out to TMJ4 News, hoping surveillance video and community attention would help bring the dogs home.
“I took them out to go potty like always. I went inside for just a minute because my baby was crying, and when I came back outside, there was nothing,” said owner Najat Abukamish.
“I heard them crying, like he was getting hurt or something.”
Video from a neighbor and Mi Tierra Restaurant shows two people walking onto the family’s property, picking up the dogs, and running to a red car before driving away just after 8:30 a.m.
“I saw two people walking over here on the video,” said 9-year-old Yasin Mohamed. “They picked up the dogs in a sad way. Like....they’re stealing something.”
Abukamish said the family adopted the puppies—a mix of Rottweiler and pit bull—about a month ago from a friend.
“We got them vaccines and everything— they have their spot in the house,” she said. “We give them love, and the kids love them- watching them, taking care of them, giving them responsibility in the house.”
Yasin said he helped care for the dogs every day. When asked how much they meant to him, he said, “Like a golden bar.”
Abukamish said the theft left the family shaken.
“This happened right here. You live right here, and this happened on the first day of the weekend?” she said. “Something like this happens, and we can’t sleep.”
The family is considering installing fencing and cameras in an effort to prevent another incident. In the meantime, they have one message.
“Give me my dogs back,” Yasin said.
The family said they have filed a police report. TMJ4 News has reached out to Milwaukee Police for an update.
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