Puppy Reunited With Family After Being Stolen At Gunpoint

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — A family was been reunited with their puppy in North Hollywood Friday night, after the French bulldog was stolen at gunpoint outside a Target. LAPD announced Saturday afternoon that the puppy had been found and returned to the owners, while the suspects were still at-large.

The theft happened on March 20, when 8-year-old Elani Valencia was walking the dog with her mother and uncle inside the Target near Vineland Avenue and Victory Boulevard. The suspects spotted the family inside the store, and later followed the uncle outside when he took the dog to the car while the family was checking out.

LAPD said the first suspect pointed a gun at the man, who ran to the other side of the car in fear. The suspect then opened the driver side door and took the puppy, before fleeing the scene on foot.

"It just brought a lot of pain to me, and it really hurt me," said Elani, who got the puppy as a Christmas gift from her mother.

The first suspect was described as a Hispanic man around 20 years old with brown hair and brown eyes, standing about 5'10" and 160 pounds with a distinctive gauge earring. At the time of the crime, he was wearing black shoes and blue jeans, with a camouflage jacket and backwards red hat.

The second suspect was also a Hispanic man aged 20, with brown hair and brown eyes. LAPD said he stands 5'10" and 150 pounds, wearing white shoes, blue jeans and a black sweater.

The city has seen a recent rise in French bulldog theft. Most notably, two of superstar Lady Gaga's prized pets were stolen at gunpoint in Hollywood after two men shot her dog walker. The dogs were later returned by a woman who said she found them. The dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was expected to fully recover.

"Four days ago, while a car sped away and blood poured from my gunshot wound, an angel trotted over and laid next to me," Fischer wrote in the aftermath of the attack. "My panicked screams calmed as I looked at her, even though it registered that the blood pooling around her tiny body was my own."

Earlier in March, Redondo Beach police arrested a man suspected of stealing an 8-week-old French bulldog puppy along Pacific Coast Highway.