A woman is pleading for the safe return of her beloved dog, Romeo, snatched right off her property.
It's a love story Valerie Rivera holds close to her heart: "His name is Romeo and I'm Juliet."
The 74-year-old has been a pet owner her whole life, and she keeps a photo album to prove it filled with priceless memories.
"I don’t think there’s a dog like Romeo. Romeo loved everybody. He loved the children," Rivera told News 4.
She said her heart was ripped out last month when Romeo, her 9-year-old Shih Tzu, was snatched from the very yard he ran out to every day.
A surveillance camera captured the last time he was let outside to use the bathroom. It also captured a man walking up to the property fence on Pitkin Avenue in East New York and petting the dog.
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Valerie — who isn’t very mobile and relies on a walker — had just let Romeo out to go to the bathroom.
Police say the man took Romeo on the morning of March 18 and ran off. Rivera believes he waited for the right opportunity to steal him.
"He stayed here a long time," she said. "It seemed like that morning he planned to take Romeo."
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With each passing day, Rivera hopes Romeo will find his way home. Her heart is aching, but she says she is willing to forgive the thief.
"May God bless him. Please return Romeo," Rivera said.
Police say the suspect was last seen, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, red baseball hat and black sneakers.
