WINNIPEG FREE PRESS (Manitoba) 20 December 04 Gecko-grab baffles family - Cold-blooded thieves make off with beloved pet
Jason Bell Jason Bell How cold-blooded do you have to be to steal a pet lizard just a week before Christmas? That's what the Schultz family is wondering after thieves broke into their St. James home last week and took several belongings -- including P.J., a male leopard gecko.
The five-year-old lizard, about eight to 10 inches long, was likely lounging under a heat lamp when the culprits made off with the nice, warm aquarium he calls home.
"It completely baffles me," said Wayne Schultz. "Why take a helpless creature who depends on us to take care of him? It doesn't make sense." The leopard gecko, brownish green in colour with yellow spots, was a fixture in the family's computer room for the last four years, constantly racing around the aquarium and living on a diet of crickets and baby mice.
Schultz said P.J. has no chance of survival out in the cold.
"He wouldn't last long in this weather," he said. "We'd like to get him back, safe and sound. But if he's not here, hopefully, he's OK in someone else's home." Geckoes are popular pets because they are easy to care for in captivity. They come in many different bright colours and can live from 20 to 25 years.
Schultz's wife, Shelley, was the primary reptile-keeper of the house.
"I grew extremely attached to him," she said. "I was devastated when I found out he'd been taken.
"The police said I should stay optimistic because (thieves) took his aquarium and heaters, too, so maybe they're keeping him as a pet or selling him." The residential break-in occurred on Marjorie Street, sometime before 10:15 p.m. Thursday evening.
Schultz's 18-year-old daughter arrived home to find the back door kicked in.
Not only did thieves take the lizard, they made off with an array of Christmas presents, electronic equipment, a leather jacket and some CDs.
"You wonder why you get picked for this kind of thing," said Wayne.
"Having a pet stolen, having people looking through our drawers, looking at our family pictures ...that's the upsetting part.
"How does someone with a conscience do something like that?" Shelley said the family contacted the media in a last-ditch attempt to get P.J. back. They aren't looking for a replacement gecko.
"We want P.J. back," she said.