"Godzilla" gone: Iguana stolen from pet store

PARAMOUNT, Calif. -- Authorities are looking to security camera footage to find the man suspected of stealing an iguana from a Los Angeles-area pet store.

The 3-foot female iguana named Godzilla was stolen Monday from the shop in Paramount, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Security cameras first caught the thief Monday visiting a market next door, then before he walks outside, seeing the iguana in a fenced courtyard and bending down to pick up the lizard.

"She actually puts up a fight," the iguana's owner Holly Cepeda told the station. "She scratches him, she whips him, and he still picks her up and takes her."

After carrying the iguana to his car, the man then goes inside another business to buy a T-shirt before eventually driving away in his Dodge Charger.

"She's worth a lot more than what he could get for her," Cepeda said. "It's sentimental value, and that's priceless."

Godzilla's owners say she often roams the courtyard outside the store to greet customers and that the store considers the 7-year-old reptile its official mascot, with her own Instagram page.

"I'm pretty sure she misses us as much as we miss her," Cepeda said. "I just want her back."

The store owners say Godzilla needs special care, and they're hoping someone comes forward with information to help bring her back safely.

CBS Los Angeles says a theft report has been filed with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.