A pet shop boss has pleaded with a hedgehog thief to “fix what they did” after the baby animal was stolen in broad daylight.
Pinto, an African pygmy hedgehog, was taken yesterday afternoon from Waterworld Aquatic Centre, which was celebrating its 21st birthday over the weekend.
The thief removed the roof of the cage which the animal shares with other hedgehogs, took him and walked out of the store in Clifton Road, Aberdeen at around 12pm.
The cute pet, which is worth £180, was waiting to be picked up by a new owner this week.
Katie Kutkowska, manager at the shop, said: “I can’t believe someone did such a horrible thing.
“The saddest part is that a lady came and said she wanted to take him at a later date. She would have bought him at the time but it was so busy in the shop.
“She was going to come back on Wednesday. She didn’t leave her number, so this is probably the first time she will hear about it.
“The hedgehogs are kept in a wooden cage with mesh windows so people can see in. There is a wooden slab on top, which is always shut unless we are getting one of the hedgehogs out to show people. But it was left open.
“We don’t have any CCTV of it happening unfortunately. We asked customers if they saw anything, but no-one did.
“We haven’t notified the police about it because there’s not a lot of them to go on.”
She added: “He was pure white with a few black patches.
“It worries me because these animals need to be kept at a certain temperature and they need a specific diet. You can’t just keep them in a shoe box.
“We’ve been here for 21 years and nothing like this has happened before. Normally we only have animal lovers come into the shop. People who want to take care of them and look after them.
“I’m just hoping they [the thief] will be brave, fix what they did and come back with the hedgehog.”