San Leandro Police are searching for the people who stole a trailer full of equipment belonging to an East Bay veterinary clinic. Owners of the clinic said someone stole their trailer in San Leandro early Wednesday morning.
The owners of Cheap Shots Pet Vaccine Clinic, husband and wife Robert and Jennifer Cadillo, said that they learned of the theft Wednesday morning when one of their employees went to report for work and found the trailer gone from the curb where it had been parked.
"That’s the part that hurt the worst was seeing people do this to us and to the people of our community," Jennifer Cadillo said. "It felt very violating to watch them drive off with everything we’ve worked for 20 years to build."
The Cadillos reviewed their surveillance video, which showed an individual approaching the trailer around 5:30 a.m. and sawing through a lock on the trailer. At least two individuals can be seen getting out of an SUV and attempting to hitch the trailer to the SUV. In less than four minutes, they successfully hitch the trailer and drive off with it.
Around $500,000 worth of veterinary supplies were inside the trailer including canopies, tables, chairs, generators, speakers, microphones, hydraulic tables, medications, tests and more, they said.
"We’ve been in business about 19 years, and it all started basically in parking lots, and at feed stores and basically built it up to where we have a fully staffed crew and multiple veterinarians working for the business," explained Robert Cadillo, who noted that many of the supplies in the trailer took years to acquire.
This business has been a labor of love for the Cadillos, who provide low-cost veterinary services including vaccinations, microchipping, testing, grooming, boarding, and more. They operate a brick-and-mortar location in San Leandro and drive their trailer to Oakland and Fremont to offer a mobile clinic.
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"We try to make just we need to be able to stay in businesses and to be able to serve the community at a lower cost," said Jennifer Cadillo, who noted that it's not uncommon for their clinics to see as many as one hundred pets on any given day.
Even without the trailer, Cheap Shots' services are still in demand and the business is trying to keep serving animals in need.
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Myles De Los Santos-Moore dropped by the San Leandro location on Saturday to pick up his dog who had been boarded there. De Los Santos-Moore said he was saddened to heard about the trailer theft.
“It just sucks that somebody would come and steal a trailer from a place that’s trying to do great things for the community,” he said.
Lieutenant Matt Barajas with San Leandro Police said the department is investigating this case and actively looking for suspects. Anyone with information on this trailer and what might have happened to it is asked to contact San Leandro Police.
The Cadillos note that the trailer's license plate number is 4TR6408, they are hopeful that someone might still recover it.
A GoFundMe page has been started for Cheap Shots to help them raise the funds they need to continue giving care to animals. The Cadillos say they are appreciative of the many people who have already donated both money and equipment.
"We are people of faith, so we’re just trusting that whatever’s been taken, they can’t take our joy," Robert Cadillo said
