Two women attempted to steal guinea pigs from a pet store in Kentucky, before throwing one of the animals at the shop owner, he has alleged.

US news outlets report that 21-year-old Isabelle Mason and 19-year-old Jaimee Pack tried to smuggle out the animals from a Pet Paradise store in Danville on Saturday without paying.

The owner of the shop, Scott Gonyaw, sensed something sinister was afoot when he noticed one of the women was carrying an “over-sized purse”.

“Didn’t look typically like the kind of girls that would be carrying an over-sized purse, a very new-looking over-sized purse, and so I was suspicious,” Mr Gonyaw told WKYT-TV.

Detective-turned-vigilante, Mr Gonyaw followed the women as they left the store and subsequently confronted them as they got into a car.

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“I started screaming at them, ‘Give me the guinea pigs!’” he said.

One of the suspects then rolled down a window before tossing a four-month-old guinea pig onto the concrete while the other women drove over Mr Gonyaw’s foot as he gave chase. He says he suffered bruising and swelling.

The guinea pig, appropriately named Lucky, escaped the incident without harm. The location of the second animal, however, remains a mystery.

Jaimee Pack faces charges of robbery, cruelty to animals, and shoplifting, along with her accomplice Isabelle Mason (AP)

The mother of one of the two women later called the police, who discovered an extra guinea pig after searching their apartment.

The animal was brought to Pet Paradise to be identified but did not match the missing guinea pig.