Broward woman is asking for the public's help after her dog was caught on camera taken by a man

A Miramar woman is asking for the public's help after her dog, Honey, jumped out of a car and was later seen with a man minutes afterward, according to the family and surveillance video obtained by CBS News Miami.

Shakyra Dwitt said she went to a CVS searching for her missing 6-month-old toy poodle, Honey, after learning an employee had seen a man with the dog inside the store shortly before she arrived.

"They said he acted like it was his. They pretty much acted like it was his dog," Dwitt said.

The incident happened March 10 when Dwitt and her children stopped at a Publix on Miramar Parkway near Southwest 68th Avenue. Dwitt and her daughter went inside the store while her son, Alaijah Brown, stayed in the car with Honey.

"I left my window down and my brother was in the back seat and she was in the front seat crying because usually I take her in the store," Brown said. "I don't know what happened. It's like he came in and then said that she ran off."

After the family began searching the shopping plaza, a couple approached them and said a man drove off with the dog from a nearby CVS. Dwitt went inside the CVS, and store employees provided surveillance video showing the last known moments of the dog.

The footage shows the toy poodle near the store entrance before running toward a man, who picks her up and walks inside. The man is then seen holding the dog at the register as the dog looks around. The video marks the last confirmed sighting of Honey.

"It makes me cry every time I watch the surveillance video," Dwitt said.

Dwitt said she contacted the Miramar Police Department, but was told the case is not being investigated as a theft because the puppy had been running loose.

Since then, Dwitt has hired private investigators, posted multiple alerts on the Nextdoor app and distributed flyers throughout the area. She has also increased the reward for Honey's return from $2,000 to $5,000.

"I just want the person who has her to be willing to give her back," Dwitt said. "I want to make it worth their while, so I'm willing to give $5,000 to get Honey back."

"She's literally half of my heart. I love her more than anything, please," Brown added.

Dwitt is asking anyone with information to contact her at 470-658-0968 or reach out to the Miramar Police Department.