A group of heartless Grinches stole Christmas from a Southern California family by breaking in through the doggie door.
The brazen perps ransacked the Pasadena home of Griffin Gmelich on Friday, taking children's piggy banks, televisions, presents from under a Christmas tree, and an urn containing ashes of their grandparents.
"They literally stole my mom and dad," Gmelich told NBC News.
The thieves -- who are still on the loose -- left behind fingerprints and footprints, and that afternoon, a neighbor's security camera caught them walking out with items from Gmelich's home. He told KTLA that they took between two and five minutes to pull off the holiday heist.
The doggie door is normally used for Gmelich's 100-pound pooch, Guffman, who he said is more of a lover than a fighter.
"Once they got in, he probably befriended them because he's a friendly guy," Gmelich told NBC News.
The worst loss in the theft, Gmelich said, was the stuff he'll never get back: the ashes, his grandfather's World War II medals, and his fathers Vietnam medals and ribbons.
The scene is reminiscent of a theft on Dec. 5, also in Southern California, in which Grinches stole Christmas decorations from a family's front yard. That theft was also caught on camera, and the video is viewable at NBC Los Angeles.
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