"These were little kids and they were going to get this wonderful dog. They’re heartbroken," said Shannon Gessler, the receptionist at PAWS, of the would-be adoptive household’s children, who are under 10 years old.

Ruby, a 2-year-old American Staffordshire terrier that would have joined her new family this past Saturday, Oct. 4, was stolen on Thursday, Oct. 2, between 2 and 4 p.m., police said.

PAWS inspectors had an opportunity to check out that family’s house and make certain Ruby could look forward to decent living conditions. Now, the shelter is unsure what might become of her.

"You don’t know if she’s in a good home," Gessler said, adding that criminals will sometimes "take a passive pit bull and use it as bait for bullfighting.

"That’s why we’re worried about her," Gessler said. "What did she get into?"

Ruby, a "very playful and friendly" dog that loved catching tennis balls, had been one of the shelter’s roughly 35 canine inhabitants since July 12, when she was spotted right outside the PAWS facility running up Walnut Street from North Willow Street.

The captors took Ruby out of one of the dog runs behind the shelter.

When the perpetrators took the pit bull, they unhooked an unsecured padlock from the latch and stole the lock, Gessler said.

Three different parties, including single people and families, had recently expressed an interest in Ruby, Gessler said. The dog, which had been spayed and neutered and had gotten her shots, would have cost $125 to adopt, Gessler said. None of the people who were considering taking Ruby home mentioned that they might have difficulty affording the fee, she said.

Anyone with information that could help police recover the dog should call Detective Adam Toops, 973-509-4717.