A 50-year-old New York City woman lost her pet at a Manhattan subway station on 6 July.

McKina Artis of East Harlem was taking her 11-year-old Shih Tzu home after a visit to the groomer when its cup fell from her stroller and rolled down the steps of the 125th Street-Lexington Avenue station, the New York Post (NYP) reported.

As Artis went to retrieve the cup, someone grabbed the dog and ran away. She was devastated over losing Lady, her emotional support dog.

While the dognapper was identified and caught within a week, Lady was not recovered.

Ali Tarawally, 33, of West Harlem, was charged with pet larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, but he did not produce Lady, according to the NYP.

A judge granted Tarawally supervised release pending his court hearing on 11 August.

Meanwhile, another petnapper struck in Beltsville, Maryland, on 13 July.

A man went inside the Pet Supplies Plus store on Baltimore Avenue and grabbed a black-and-white kitten that was being offered for adoption.

The catnapper was then seen entering a nearby bank after the pet shop staff called police.

Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats Rescue told NBC Washington that she saw police cars speeding to the area and thought it was quite a response for a stolen cat.

Police went into the PNC Bank and arrested the catnapper there. It was later learned that the man who stole the tuxedo kitten named Magnolia had tried to rob the bank.

Stullich said police officers told her the suspect walked into the bank holding Magnolia and asked an employee, “Can you hold this?” He then handed a teller a note demanding cash, the NYP reported.

The rescue later posted on Facebook that Magnolia had been recovered safely and was awaiting adoption.