Community Corner

Cheshire Police Officer Arrested on Dog Theft Charges

Officer Thomas Wright, Jr. arrested in Naugatuck on charges of stealing a dog.

This article first appeared in Naugatuck Patch.

Cheshire police officer Thomas Wright, and his wife, Dawn, were arrested by Naugatuck police in connection to a dog-theft incident, police said.

The couple, both 39, of Naugatuck, turned themselves in to the borough police department on Wednesday after learning of a warrant charging them with stealing a dog, obstructing an animal control officer and fourth-degree larceny. 

According to Naugatuck police spokesman Lt. Robert Harrison, a complaint was lodged with police in September after a borough resident stumbled upon .

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The woman said she saw an article published in March about a basement fire  on Allerton Road, Harrison said. According to firefighters at the scene, the home was occupied by the Wrights.

The complainant told police that the picture posted on Naugatuck Patch of a pug rescued from the March fire was her dog that went missing in January 2010.

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“Based on that (Patch) article, she started to make inquiries into the location of the dog, with both veterinarians and animal control officers,” Harrison said.

Harrison said the Wrights have had the pug in their possession for more than a year since finding the dog roaming on the street.

The dog had an embedded identity chip, Harrison said, but the Wrights refused to allow police to scan the dog’s chip. The Naugatuck police got a search warrant to allow the dog to be checked. The scan showed the pug was registered to the complainant, Harrison said.

Two people who answered the door at the Wrights' home Friday declined to comment. The Wrights were released on promises to appear at Waterbury Superior Court on Oct. 19.


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