Dog Days Gang Strikes Irvine

...or, The Case of the Bonehead Bandits.

Lisa Morganthaler, director of an Irvine, Calif. PetSmart store aptly characterized three Chihuahua-nappers as "idiots" after the trio swiped a bag full of the noisy, tiny pooches from a dog pound believing them to be vicious fighting dogs.

According to a Reuters story, after being told repeatedly by the in-store clinic staff that the dogs were not pit bulls, and in fact were Chihuahuas, the thieves responded, "No way, it's a pitbull."

Police arrested the Chihuahua gang -- Mehrad Sepanjasa, 19, Ariyo MacKay, 18, and Kamyar Katouzian, 24 -- after Morganthaler recognized the dogs from a flyer and convinced the men to return two days later to ask the veterinarian about their breed. Positive identification was made through the ID microchips planted under the dogs' skin.

But yes, the vet told them, these are Chihuahuas.

The thieves "were perturbed," Morganthaler said. "These guys are idiots."

In an unusual display of empathy for his abductors, Tico, the smallest of the purloined pups, said, "Eet was an honest meestake. We thought we were peet bulls, too."