SAN DIEGO - A woman who stole a car in Escondido with two dogs inside, then turned the animals loose in Lakeside before she was arrested, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in state prison.

Mercedes Cortelezzi, 21, pleaded guilty May 15 to auto theft and assault on a police officer.

Cortelezzi, of Carlsbad, was on parole for a 2005 auto theft conviction when she took the Infiniti containing the 3-year-old Boston and rat terrier mixes from a YMCA parking lot on April 29, prosecutors said.

The owners of the dogs, Frank and Michelle Bless, were out of town three days later when they got a call informing them that the woman who stole their Infiniti had been arrested, and their pets - Mimi and Poxy - were being held at an East County animal shelter.

Officers spotted the Infiniti and notified Escondido police, who chased Cortelezzi and took her into custody during a brief struggle.

The dogs had been found a day earlier by a good Samaritan who called the animal shelter. Both dogs had been implanted with microchips, which helped Animal Services workers find their owners.