Suspected thieves targeting a Colorado pet store had an accomplice fake a seizure to grab people’s attention while they ran off with two bulldog puppies, each worth about $4,300.

Three men walked into Perfect Pets in Centennial separately, and each asked employees about the pair of bulldog puppies. One of the three, Timothy Davis, 37, then began writhing on the floor, distracting store employees, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said.

“They were walking around the store, super sketchy already. Just very rude, impolite,” store Manager Bianca Larsen told KDVR-TV, adding that Mr. Davis “just fell on the floor, faked a seizure.”

Surveillance footage of the incident shows another suspect running to the pen that the two bulldog puppies were in, taking off part of the lid, and grabbing them. He tripped on his way out the door after a store employee tackled him, but he managed to pick both dogs back up and escape, with the third suspect fleeing with him.

Mr. Davis, accused of having faked a seizure to allow the other two time to steal the dogs, was arrested at the store and has been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, theft and drug possession.

The two other men, one of them Black and wearing a large, black coat and sweatpants, and the other White or Hispanic with brown hair wearing a blue-and-white beanie, got into a gold Cadillac Escalade after it pulled up and drove off. The getaway driver is thought to be a woman, the sheriff’s office said.

One of the stolen puppies was recovered Monday night after a good Samaritan saw a news story about the theft. She had bought the bulldog puppy from a street vendor in Denver for $1,500, she told sheriff’s deputies, and called Perfect Pets to return the dog, the sheriff’s office said.

The store had offered an initial reward for $1,000 for one of the puppies or $4,000 for both with the arrest of those responsible, according to KDVR-TV. 

The car had no license plates and had tinted windows. The sheriff’s office asked that anyone with information on the car, the suspects and the whereabouts of the other missing dog call 720-874-8477.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.