DOGNAPPER SOUGHT: Romeo Rivera the dog is stolen from Brooklyn woman's driveway

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The NYPD is searching for a suspected dognapper after a pet dog was stolen from a Brooklyn woman's home last month.

Police released images Friday of the suspect and of the dog as the search for the pooch continues.

The dognapping happened on the morning of March 18 after a 74-year-old East New York woman let her dog—a Shih Tzu breed named Romeo Rivera—outside to go to the bathroom.

While Romeo Rivera was in the driveway around 9:30 a.m., a man came up to the home at Jerome Street and Pitkin Avenue.

Surveillance footage shows the man petting and interacting with the dog before he ultimately snatched up the pup.

The thief was last seen fleeing southbound on Jerome Street toward Pitkin Avenue, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.