WOOSTER, Ohio >> With no cash to offer their burglars, an Ohio couple was robbed of their four puppies on Christmas morning instead.

A Wayne County sheriff’s captain says three men slipped through an unlocked sliding door at a northeast Ohio home at around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities say the suspects confronted a 32-year-old man in semirural Chippewa Township. They say the man was struck in the face with a handgun, and a 21-year-old woman was held up at gunpoint.

When the suspects’ demands for cash weren’t met, the men scooped up 3-week-old Cane Corso puppies and fled. Cane Corsos are an Italian mastiff-type dog that can serve as watchdogs and hunters.

Capt. Doug Hunter says the puppies’ chances of survival are slim because they’re not yet weaned. The puppies’ mother wasn’t taken.