Minnesota couple accused of taking dog from local restaurant

A Minnesota couple is accused by authorities of stealing a dog at a Bayfield County restaurant.

Chantel Primus, 21, of Andover, and her boyfriend Taylor Santocono, 21, of Vergas, both face charges of dog or catnapping as a party of a crime. Primus also faces a charge of resisting and obstructing an officer. If convicted, Primus faces 18 months’ imprisonment; Santocono faces nine months.

According to the criminal complaint, the dog’s owner called the Bayfield County Communication Center on July 16 to report her dog, a yellow lab retriever, was taken from outside a restaurant on Highway 13 in the town of Bayview. She said the dog would have possibly been taken the day before.

While the dog was missing, social media posts were shared more than 2,000 times along with a picture of the dog. The posts requested assistance with finding the dog and bringing it home.

A neighbor reported he had done car work for Primus and Santocon. The neighbor said the two were in the area and would have passed the restaurant multiple times that day.

When speaking with law enforcement on July 22, Primus admitted she and Santocono took the dog. She said they did so because it was running and took it to the house in Minnesota. They crashed the car on the way, Primus said, and then the dog ran away.

Primus also admitted that when previously contacted by law enforcement on July 17, she did have the dog and was scared to tell him the truth.

On July 19, a witness in Douglas County contacted the dog’s owner saying he thought he had the dog. The witness said he found the dog soaking wet around 7 a.m. in his front lawn earlier that day. The dog’s owner met with the witness and confirmed it was the right dog and they were “joyfully reunited,” the complaint stated.

Santocono failed to attend an initial appearance Sept. 24. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Primus has an initial appearance set for Oct. 25.