WOODBRIDGE, Va. — A couple says their 8-month-old puppy was the target of a burglary inside their Woodbridge apartment.
Darwin Orellana received a call from his father on Wednesday July 7, that their home in the 2000 block of Sequoia Court had been broken into just after 12 p.m. Upon Orellana's arrival, he noticed that none of his valuables were missing despite having his laptop, gaming system, and cash out in the open.
"Nothing was touched. Literally nothing at all which was so weird. The bed was moved and the leashes for my dog are typically in the living room and they were in the bedroom," said Orellana to WUSA9.
With Prince William County Police (PWCP) officers present, Darwin and his girlfriend Elisa Vasquez looked for their pets. They say their cat Jade was in one of the rooms, startled but safe; however, they were unable to locate their poodle puppy named Teddy.
"His paws are poking out of the bed a little bit, and I am like 'come on Teddy', and I pull him out and that's when I see his eye is legit coming out of his socket," describes Vasquez.
Teddy was transported to an animal hospital in Prince William County and then to another center in Fairfax County because of the severity of his lesions. The puppy continues to have bruising on his head.
According to Elisa, he is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday to get his eye removed.
The couple believes that their animals were the target of the break-in because none of their belongings were taken. Darwin's father was able to make contact with the suspect, who he claims smiled at him before running away.
Darwin said he found the weapon that was used to brutally beat his puppy, a Swiffer sweeper that he found underneath his bed, "the pole was bent with Teddy's bite marks and blood on it."
Elisa says she does not feel comfortable returning to the apartment that belongs to a pet friendly community in Woodbridge. She says she finds herself wondering what led this man to hurt Teddy, "What was your motive? What was your reason? Why did you do this?"
The young couple has been receiving support and messages of encouragement from pet owners across the country that have been donating to their GoFundMe account to help them pay for the rising vet bills that are in the thousands.
PWCP has not released a description or identity of the suspect and no arrests have been made in this case.