A tiny puppy snatched from a boy’s hands outside Lidl was a gift to his brother for surviving a HEART ATTACK.
The Yorkshire terrier called Jessie was a gift to three-year-old Nathan Nowak after he suffered a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery at just five months old.
So mum-of-three Monika, 28, gifted Nathan the pup in August to help with his recovery, but was left devastated after Jessica was stolen out of the hands of son Niko, 10, by a callous thief who asked to TOUCH the dog.
Monika, from New Addington, south London, said: “The man asked Niko ‘can I touch her?’ And my son is a very kind boy and said no problem.
“Then he took her – he grabbed the lead and ran.”
“How you can take a dog from just a child?”
Nathan had the heart surgery Great Ormond Street Hospital and still has to travel there for extra checks to make sure his heart is still working properly.
She said: “He misses her a lot – every day he says to me, ‘can we go and catch the man? I want my baby back’.”
Grandma Terri Dorman, 50, said: “Monika bought the dog thinking it would be a nice thing for Nathan and this has happened, which is awful.
“I looked after Nathan on the weekend and he’s absolutely distraught.
“He’s been through a lot already.”
Appeals have since been made for the return of the puppy, with many kind New Addington residents donating towards a reward for information, now thought to be around £500.
The suspect is described as white, with short brown hair, aged about 15 to 20, and wearing black clothes.
The Met Police are investigating after the young lad had his five-month-old Yorkshire terrier torn from his grasp as he waited outside a branch of the budget supermarket last Friday.
