Two velociraptor ornaments taken from New Philadelphia backyard garden heart
NEW PHILADELPHIA — If you have noticed a nine-foot-prolonged dinosaur that seems out of spot,…

NEW PHILADELPHIA — If you have noticed a nine-foot-prolonged dinosaur that seems out of spot, a local back garden heart and the law enforcement would like to know about it.
Two ornamental velociraptors have been stolen considering the fact that July from Stutzman’s Garden & Landscaping, 1138 Business Ave. SE.
The initially, named Penelope, was described stolen July 23. Her mate Pierre was noted stolen Wednesday. Like his lady, he was previous viewed holding his head five toes above the ground on the working day in advance of he disappeared.
“They’ve been here at least five or six yrs,” stated Annadele France, backyard garden heart supervisor. “They ended up for sale when we to start with introduced them in. They just hardly ever offered. So we maintain them down by the pond just as a novelty. The little ones truly liked seeing them down by the koi pond.”
She reported the pair attracted families for visits and pictures, as does 9-foot-tall gorilla Otis.
The lacking carnivores have a retail price of $1,800 every. They are made of resin and mesh.
When Penelope to start with disappeared, Stutzman’s staff suspected she may well have been relocated as a gag. France reported they anticipated her to show up downtown or reappear at the pond.
“Each individual working day immediately after that transpired, we searched in all places close to in this article,” she said. “I considered, ‘Well, it’s possible somebody moved it,’ when it initial took place. Maybe one particular of the landscapers just was pulling a prank on us ladies below at the back garden centre. We seemed substantial and reduced. I called every employee to make sure no person experienced marketed it. It was a flat ‘no.’
“Each day, there was nevertheless only Pierre. So when we seemed down and Pierre was also long gone, it was just definitely surprising.
“It seems like comedy, but in actuality, an individual took something with excellent benefit and whether it was a dinosaur or a car, or some thing that was additional crucial to somebody, it truly is wrong irrespective,” France said. “For the retail worth, it’s a rather weighty theft.”
The firm’s Facebook article about Pierre’s theft mentioned it would have taken a lot more than one particular individual to carry him without leaving any marks on the floor. The rebar that held him down is intact, and there are no drag marks. Penelope, way too, was lifted off the anchor that held her in a mulch mattress, with no marks indicating she had been dragged.
“There are evidently ruthless thieves in the space,” the organization mentioned on its Fb website page.
Stutzman’s has requested people today to continue to keep an eye out for the velociraptors in yards, general public and non-public house, and sale websites.
On Thursday, the shop received a idea that someone experienced found and photographed possibly Penelope or an exact duplicate. France explained police had been adhering to the lead.
In addition to the theft of two velociraptors from Stutzman’s, a Bobcat and trailer ended up stolen from a neighboring business throughout the same time body.
Any individual with info about the thefts is requested to simply call New Philadelphia police at 330-343-4488 or Stutzman’s at 330-339-4234.