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Brooklyn Woman Says Car Thief Took Off With Puppy Still Inside

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn woman is distraught after a car thief took off with her Audi which had her Chihuahua puppy still inside.

Eleni Pappas said she was just out of the car for a minute with the key in the ignition while she paid for gas at the BP station on Avenue U in Mill Basin when someone got in the car and took off with her 11-month-old pup Leo inside, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.

"I chased him out of the parking lot, a little further down and at that time I was so hysterical I didn't even know what was going on," she said.

Leo - puppy stolen with car
Leo (Credit: handout)

Pappas said Leo means the world to her and life has been a whirl wind since he disappeared Friday night.

"I haven't slept, I've been running around putting up flyers everywhere -- almost 500 flyers," she said.

Pappas said she doesn't care about her 2010 Audi, she just wants her dog back safely.

Anyone with information on Leo's whereabouts is urged to contact Pappas through a Facebook page she set up.

Web Extra: Help Find Leo - The Stolen Pup

Brooklyn Woman Says Car Thief Took Off With Puppy Still Inside

A similar incident happened in New Jersey just a few days ago.

Zulma Solis said she left her car running as she went into a store in North Bergen, New Jersey, and the car ended up being stolen with her dog inside.

Solis described her 5-year-old Chihuahua, Rambo, as being "like my son, and I would do anything for him."

Solis was headed to her boyfriend's house Thursday night for dinner, and stopped to buy wine at Tonnelle Wine & Liquors, at 8516 Tonnelle Ave. in North Bergen, just after 7 p.m., CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.

Zulma Solis And Rambo
Zulma Solis' car was stolen in a North Bergen, New Jersey parking lot, with her dog, Rambo inside. (Credit: CBS2)

"I was still able to see the car. I ran in. I couldn't find the bottle that I was looking for, for so I asked for help," Solis said. "When I put my head up, after I went into my purse, I saw that I couldn't see the light of my car because it was right in front of the store."

She said the theft of her car took only a minute or so.

Solis said the car is worth around $30,000, but Rambo, to her, is priceless.

She said Rambo weighs about 5 pounds, and was not wearing a collar when he was stolen.

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