A burglar may have played the Grinch to a Tampa family before police officers and dispatchers took on the role of surrogate Santas - but the family's dog is still missing.
The Tampa Bay Times reports someone broke into Melody Russell's rental home Monday and stole about 20 Christmas presents for her two children, along with a laptop and TV. Police officers and dispatchers replaced the gifts, but the family's 12-week-old Shih Tzu, Honey, is still missing.
It's not clear if the burglar took the white dog or if she ran away in fear, but Russell's 7-year-old daugher, Marissa, had a message if someone took her pet.
"Make sure you take care of her," Marissa said at the family's home Tuesday afternoon. "You feed her, you take her for walks, you clean up after her and love her like she's your family."
Police have no suspects in the break-in. People with information about Honey or the burglary can call Tampa Police at 813-231-6130 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-833-8477.
