Metro

Doghunt for stolen Shih Tzu

A heartbroken dog lover is begging for the public’s help in recovering her prized pooch, stolen by a street punk in Chelsea, police said yesterday.

Maria Vazquez, 49, was out for a walk with her black-and-white Shih Tzu, Skylar, Friday when she came upon the Container Store giving away inventory on Sixth Avenue on Friday.

Vazquez tied 7-year-old Skylar to a pole to glance at the giveaway, and he was gone moments later.

A good Samaritan was driving Vazquez around the block when she saw a man on West 19th Street and Seventh Avenue with Skylar.

“I tried to jump out of the car and yelled, ‘That’s my dog,’ and he took off,” Vazquez told The Post. “I’m slow because I have [arthritis] but I was going after him and yelling, ‘Give me my dog! Give me my dog!’ ”

The dog snatcher disappeared on foot, but a surveillance camera on a firehouse captured a bit of the chase.

Vazquez lives with her mother, who suffers from early-stage dementia. She has yet to tell her mom Skylar’s been dog-napped, saying he’s at the vet’s with a stomach infection.

Vazquez is offering a $300 reward and cops are vowing to help, based on the firehouse video.