Mom Allegedly Tells Girls to Steal Dog
ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) - A woman who allegedly instructed her two young daughters to steal a neighbor's dog was arrested on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and grand theft.
Nora Vasquez' arrest Wednesday came a week after her daughters, ages 7 and 9, told their elementary school principal they snatched the missing mutt on their mother's orders.
A witness to the daylight dog-napping earlier this month told investigators that he saw two girls jump out of an SUV and grab the pooch from a neighbor's porch while a woman shouted at them to hurry.
"We wonder why our children wind up the way they do," said Antioch Police Lt. Pat Welch. "It's unbelievable someone would take a 7- and 9-year-old and encourage them to do that and think it's appropriate behavior."
Vasquez, 35, acknowledged she told the girls to get the dog, a 1-year-old Chihuahua-Pekinese mix named Guppi, but told investigators she thought the pet was in danger from another dog nearby, according to Welch.
Vazquez was released on $20,000 bail, Welch said. The Associated Press could not find a listed telephone number for her.
The sisters first came under suspicion in Guppi's disappearance when a school librarian noticed one of them reacting strangely to a sign the dog's owners posted offering a reward for its return. The pair was summoned into the principal's office, where they confessed, according to Welch.
Nora Vasquez' arrest Wednesday came a week after her daughters, ages 7 and 9, told their elementary school principal they snatched the missing mutt on their mother's orders.
A witness to the daylight dog-napping earlier this month told investigators that he saw two girls jump out of an SUV and grab the pooch from a neighbor's porch while a woman shouted at them to hurry.
"We wonder why our children wind up the way they do," said Antioch Police Lt. Pat Welch. "It's unbelievable someone would take a 7- and 9-year-old and encourage them to do that and think it's appropriate behavior."
Vasquez, 35, acknowledged she told the girls to get the dog, a 1-year-old Chihuahua-Pekinese mix named Guppi, but told investigators she thought the pet was in danger from another dog nearby, according to Welch.
Vazquez was released on $20,000 bail, Welch said. The Associated Press could not find a listed telephone number for her.
The sisters first came under suspicion in Guppi's disappearance when a school librarian noticed one of them reacting strangely to a sign the dog's owners posted offering a reward for its return. The pair was summoned into the principal's office, where they confessed, according to Welch.
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