A van with five pit bull puppies inside was stolen before dawn Tuesday in St. Paul, and the animal rescue organization that was caring for the dogs is frantically trying to track down the vehicle.
The Rescue Pets Are Wonderful (RPAW) van was swiped about 5 a.m. from in front of Liz Gigler's home in the 1500 block of Christie Place, just south of Wakefield Lake and near Larpenteur Avenue, she said.
Although Gigler said she's not sure whether the thief wanted just the van, the puppies or both, "for unaltered pit pups, they can go from $500 to $1,000 on the street."
The van is a silver 2007 Dodge Caravan, with RPAW logos on both rear side windows. Also, Gigler said, "The right front bumper has a good amount of damage."
Gigler said she had just put the puppies in the van "when I was getting things ready to transport them to their foster home."
She added that the puppies have microchips embedded, making them traceable.
"Please please please help us locate these babies!" RPAW posted on its Facebook page. "Please focus on watching Craigslist and Facebook sites for the puppies."
Also in the van were credit cards that were being used after the theft, providing some evidence of where the van has been and a clue that its plates have been removed, Gigler said.
