The owner of six teacup poodle puppies that were snatched in the middle of the night from her Bronx apartment said the heartless theft has left her entire family crushed since “everyone wanted one for Christmas this year.”
Two masked dognappers got into Margarite Oquendo’s apartment on Nov. 10 after stealing a spare set of house keys from the console of her car that was parked just blocks away, near Crotona Park, she said.
“All they did was take the dogs,” a devastated Oquendo, 30, told The Post on Wednesday.
“I believe I was watched that day and possibly followed,” she added. “People know I have them … they know I have the dogs. I post them online on social media.”
The mom of two, who works as a flight attendant, said her whole family is “distraught” by the theft of the puppies, which her 2-year-old miniature poodle, Lucy, an emotional support dog, recently gave birth to.
“Everybody was distraught over this and they’re worried for the puppies,” she said.
The pups were Lucy’s first litter of teacup poodles, which grow to be no more than 9 inches and weigh less than 6 pounds.
Oquendo said each of the tiny pups — two males named Bam Bam and Papi and four females named La La Loopsy, Kiss Me, Cuddles and Honey — had been designated for relatives or friends for Christmas gifts.
“Everybody wanted a puppy from Lucy. I wanted to make that happen, and now she’s missing her babies, too.”
Oquendo, who lives with her two daughters, ages 10 and 3, said she immediately noticed something was out of place after getting home the day of the break-in — and quickly discovered the puppies were gone.
“I did panic at first. I was like there was somebody in my house, you know, ‘what’s going on?’ So I just ran out of the apartment with my dog (Lucy) and I went to security. I went to get help right immediately. I called 911,” she recalled.
While the dog-loving mom is relieved she and her two children weren’t home at the time of the robbery, she says she hopes whoever took the pups will bring them back home.
“I hope they’re taking care of them wherever they are because this is a serious crime. I want them to bring them back safely,” Oquendo said.
The puppies, which are only four weeks old, also still heavily rely on their mother for feeding and nurturing.
“It’s a lot because they are really, really small. They just opened up their eyes. They just started walking and stuff. It’s terrible,” Oquendo said.
The heartbroken mom said she still isn’t sure how to break the news to her youngest daughter, who is very attached to the dogs.
Both girls are currently staying with relatives while Oquendo handles the situation.
Oquendo warned other dog-owners to be watchful.
“Just be aware,” she said. “Don’t leave nothing in your cars, take all your items with you wherever you go. This could happen to anybody.”
The still-at-large suspects were pictured in stills from surveillance footage released by the NYPD late Monday.
Both are seen wearing white face masks, and one had on a maroon hoodie and the other a black hoodie.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X at @NYPDTips.
