State Police are on the lookout for thieves who stole money and drugs from the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley.
The break-in at the Howes Cave shelter occurred January 30, but so far, police have few leads––though they’ve gotten some help from the shelter dogs.
To help, shelter officials this week offered a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves.
Shelter President Mina Stella and State Police Investigator David Ayers said the perpetrators took a safe containing $190 and some personal checks and dog medicine from a locked medicine cabinet.
“My biggest worry is that they sell that medicine to kids as drugs,” Ms. Stella said.
“I have no idea why someone would take animal medicine and use it for drugs.”
Although few leads exist, Investigator Ayers and Ms. Stella said the break-in may have been done by someone familiar with the shelter.
The person knew where the key to the medicine cabinet was and replaced after taking the drugs.
The dogs inadvertently supplied another clue. Grover, a pit bull in the kennel, upsets his water dish every time a stranger enters.
The person broke in through the back door at about 8:30pm on the 30th and walked through the kennel. Grover didn’t upset his water, indicating he knew the thief.
“Apparently these dogs go crazy when someone strange comes in,” Investigator Ayers said. “But nothing was disturbed.
“The person walked right through and seemed to know the place.”
Many people who work at the shelter are performing community service as punishment for a crime.
“These are people who have been arrested, so our suspect pool is pretty large,” Investigator Ayers said.
Ms. Stella said the shelter started offering the reward Monday in hopes it would produce information, and Investigator Ayers agreed.
“It could help,” he said. “Cases like this don’t get solved very quickly.
“Sometimes it takes somebody getting arrested for something else and then talking about this. We’re just working out way down the list of suspects.”
The shelter is in the middle of a large fund drive to construct a new building. That money wasn’t in the shelter at the time of the burglary and is always deposited in a bank, Ms. Stella said.
Anyone with information can contact Investigator Ayers at the Cobleskill State Police station, 234-9400.