Authors: Joshua Cohan

Animal Planet(LAS VEGAS) -- Reality came to Animal Planet’s reality-TV hit show Tanked Sunday evening when four pet birds were stolen from their cages.
“We love our animals here, so it kind of hurts,” store owner Wayde King told Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV. “It’s like someone taking your kid.”
Acrylic Tank Manufacturing creates custom aquariums and acrylic exhibits, and houses more than marine life in its store.  King said he received a call that four of his pet birds had been stolen from their cages. The animals had been rescued, and included a gold macaw named Sapphire, who was missing a claw. The other missing birds included two more macaws, and a white-and-yellow colored cockatoo.
“I just can’t believe someone actually ran in here in the middle of the night and stole a bird,” he said.  He said because of the way other birds in the store were acting, “they know four of their best friends are missing.”
King’s shop wasn’t the only animal heist Sunday evening, as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department also responded to another burglary involving high-priced puppies that were taken from Prince & Princess, a puppy boutique.
Las Vegas Police Officer Laura Meltzer told ABC News that the two male suspects in the bird heist were also suspects in the puppy theft. Two white French bulldog puppies, a gray schnauzer puppy and a black Yorkshire terrier puppy were taken from the boutique 90 minutes before the bird theft, she said.
King said he believes they had visited his store before.
Video surveillance released by the Las Vegas Police Department shows two males who looked to be in their late teens or early 20s wearing white baseball caps. The first of the surveillance videos shows them entering the dog boutique, opening cages and removing the dogs. The second video shows a man kicking his foot through the glass door of the manufacturing company, walking inside, and then leaving the store with the birds.
“We are concerned with both the robbery and the welfare of the animals, which need adequate care,” Meltzer said. “And we want to put the public on notice that if they see a good deal concerning exotic birds and puppies, they should use their due diligence in checking out whether or not these are legitimate sales.”
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