The Grinch may have tried to steal Christmas from one Tampa family, but a group of police officers made sure they got it back.

A Tampa police officer responded Monday to a house in N. 50th Street to investigate a report of a burglary.

When the officer arrived, he learned that a burglar had stolen the Christmas presents Melody Russell had purchased for her two young children, 5-year-old Marcus and 7-year-old Marissa

The officer said the thief also took the family's two-month-old Shih Tzu, Honey.

"I noticed the back door had been open and I didn’t see Honey there," Russell said. "I noticed all the gifts had been gone."

Russell said her children were upset by the loss of their presents, but it was the theft of their dog that has hurt them the most.

Marissa said she had a message for the person who took her dog.

"Make sure you take care of her, you feed her, take her for a walk, clean up after her, and love her like she’s your family," Marissa said.

The responding officer and the dispatcher were touched by the family's plight, and so they collaborated with Squad 204 and the other dispatchers to buy presents to replace everything that had been stolen, as well as a few extra things.

Squad 204 then returned to the family's home and delivered the gifts for the children.

"They walked in, every single one of them had gifts," Russell said. "I couldn't stop smiling. I didn't have words."

It was the one bright spot in the family's holiday. Now they are hoping their dog will come home.

Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Tampa Police Department.