Police find 4 Doberman-mix puppies stolen from shelter

A western Pennsylvania animal shelter says four puppies stolen overnight have been returned safely after they were tracked down by a state police trooper.

Sarah Jo Smith, director of the Pet Adoption League, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that two people broke into the nonprofit South Huntingdon Township shelter at about 11 p.m. Monday and took one of the 8-week-old Doberman-mix puppies. She says the pair came back at about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday for the other three puppies from the litter.

Surveillance photos didn't show their faces, but Smith said she suspected a teenage couple whose adoption request was rejected.

Trooper Adam Mylant went to the male suspect's home in Jeannette, where his father turned the puppies over. Smith says the female suspect had been a former volunteer at the shelter.