The Nebraska Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for the safe return of a chihuahua puppy stolen from two little girls last week.

The reward will be given pending the return of the dog to its owners and arrest of the party responsible for the theft. "This is a despicable crime and the person responsible must be brought to justice," said the Humane Society in a press release Tuesday.

The puppy, named Bear I, was stolen from two little girls near 50th and Farnam last Monday. Bear II, Bear I's playmate is a black lab puppy, who still remains with the girls.

"He sleeps a lot, but he wakes up a little bit and then he falls back to sleep," said 5-year-old Chenell Mitchell. Chenell and her 4-year-old sister Natalia watch over Bear II like they're guarding gold and with good reason.

Bear I was taken from them while they were playing with the pup. "Some people take a lot of dogs, but some don't, they just let them go," said Chennell.

It's a hard lesson for pre-school kids to understand, but there are people out there who will steal a puppy. Anthony Mitchell doesn't appreciate being forced to teach that lesson to his daughters.

"It's scum, I mean got to be the scum of the earth to do that, especially to little kids. I could see if the dog was just out there, but to take it in front of little kids, that's scum."

Bear I was taken by a well-dressed woman who stopped her van, got out and grabbed the puppy. "If they catch her I hope they throw the book at her," says Anthony.

The woman stole the puppy, but she also took a piece of his daughters' innocence and changed the way they see the world. That's why Bear II is rarely out of their sight.

"Somebody just will pull up, they'll open the gate and just take him," says Chennell. "That's sad, It's really sad."

What makes this worse is the family is in Omaha because Anthony Mitchell needs a kidney transplant. The Chihuahua was given to the girls to keep their minds off the situation.