Naperville woman gets work-release in theft of ‘puggle’
BY BILL BIRD wbird@stmedianetwork.com June 12, 2012 7:32PM
Sullivan
Updated: June 14, 2012 10:03PM
A 50-year-old woman has been sentenced to 30 days in a DuPage County work-release program for last winter’s theft of a “designer puppy” from a Naperville pet shop.
Susan L. Sullivan lives on the 0-10 block of Testa Drive, near the Will-O-Way neighborhood on Naperville’s west side. She had originally been charged with a felony, but was found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor count of retail theft, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.
Judge Robert G. Kleeman on Monday ordered Sullivan to begin serving the work-release sentence today, records indicated. Kleeman also placed Sullivan on two years of probation and ordered her to pay a total of $340 in fines and court costs, records showed.
Sullivan was arrested shortly before 6 p.m. Feb. 20 outside Happiness Is Pets. The store, at 1592 W. Ogden Ave., is several blocks south of her home.
Naperville police Sgt. John Westlove in February said Sullivan had been drinking when she entered the shop and went to an area where customers can hold and play with the dogs. She picked up a tan-colored, 9-week-old puggle, a cross between a pug and a beagle.
Sullivan shortly thereafter “concealed the dog under her jacket and left the store,” Westlove said. Employees, who had observed the theft, followed her outside, detaining her until police could be called.
Westlove said Sullivan argued with the workers, telling them “she didn’t try to steal the puppy,” which was not injured during the incident. Sullivan later said she just wanted to have a dog of her own, Westlove said.
Sullivan’s criminal record in DuPage County includes drunken-driving convictions in Aurora and Villa Park.
