It was a doggone bad day for some suspected puppy thieves when an employee of the pet store from where they were stolen tracked them down. When he located the suspect's vehicle, he found the  pilfered pups inside and called police.

            Willie Calvin Holloway Jr., 21, Jessie Holloway Road, Portal, and Diante Lamar Long, 17, Statesboro Place, were each charged with felony theft by taking and burglary Sunday after they took the pups from Pets and People, said Statesboro Police Capt. L. C. Williams.

            He and Advanced Patrol Officer Todd Olsen responded to a call about the stolen puppies around 5:41 p.m. Sunday, and spoke with a store employee who said two men driving a blue Ford Mustang grabbed a black Yorkshire terrier pup  and a black dachshund puppy from display pens at the back of the store, and left without paying for them while store employees were helping other customers, he said.

            The Yorkie was priced at $850, while the dachshund was valued at $500, making the theft a felony offense, he said.

            The employee who called police after the dognapping went out in search of the suspects' vehicle, and called police later when he found the blue Mustang parked at the Statesboro Mall in front of Maurice's, Williams said. The two puppies were inside the car.

            Olsen and Advanced Patrol Officer Nathan Bolton responded to the scene, and after the store employee identified the suspects, Holloway and Long were each charged with felony theft by taking and burglary. Holloway  tried to flee, which caused officers to add an obstruction charge, he said.