The Wag dogwalker who stole a Manhattan couple’s to gift the pup to someone else will serve just 10 days of community service, a judge ruled at a plea deal Thursday.
Christian Madriaga copped to in Manhattan Criminal Court for swiping the pooch, named Benny, on June 13 — sparking an intense social media search and the help of the company’s .
Madriaga’s lawyer told The Post his client was racked with guilt after dognapping the when he was supposed to be taking it for a walk.
“Mr. Madriaga, who otherwise has no criminal history, recognizes that he made a terrible mistake, feels awful about it and this is his way of accepting responsibility for his actions,” lawyer Adam Freedman said.
As part of the deal, the 22-year-old will be able to re-plead to a misdemeanor petit larceny charges in 12 months’ time if he avoids being rearrested.
According to the criminal complaint, Madriaga was scheduled to walk Benny around 11 a.m. but cancelled the appointment. A new ওWag walker showed up and raised the alarm when the poo🗹ch was .
Distraught owners Max and Sophie Troper rushed home to review surveillance footage from their South End Avenue apartment and saw a man casually strolling out of the building carrying the golden “Shorkie” under his arm.
According to court docs, Madriaga planned to give the dog to someone else before detectives arrived a🐓t his Queens address the next day and retrieved the four-legged hostage.
The Tropers said the investigation only kicked into gear when they reached out to spokeswoman actress Olivia Munn, who called them a𝔍t 4 a.m. and kept them calm throughout the ordeal.
“She was on phone with senior people at Wag — but at this point it had already been 15 hours since it happened,” Max, a lawyer, told The Post in June.
The app has a troubled history in New York City. On the same day Benny was stolen, another Big Apple pup was killed during a walk with a different Wag employee — who also stole the dog’s crystal necklace, a lawsuit charged.
According to the suit, the Hudson Yards couple’s Yorkshire terrier, Whiskey, was hit by a car and killed on June 13.
Whiskey was at least the 11th dog lost or killed by Wag in the B𓆏ig Apple since 2015, according to records seen by The Post.