Robbers rush into home and take bulldog

By Velena Jones

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     SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — A brazen break-in targeted a bulldog. A South Sacramento family is desperately searching for their pet.

Micha Gonzales and her sister Lilly have been frantically passing out flyers and searching for Gonzales’s English bulldog for days.

“She is a family member, she is not just a dog,” explained Micha Gonzales.

The pup named Cinnamon was stolen during a home invasion in South Sacramento Friday night near Sky and Uranus parkways.

“Somebody came in the house, broke the door down, took my dog, hit my friend,” Micha said.

Micha’s friend was at home when it happened. The thieves only took the dog before escaping. Micha, who was planning on opening up a kennel, believes the thieves knew what they were doing.

“They said, ‘get the dog’, maybe they knew my dog was an expensive dog,” she said.

Experts say bulldogs are being targeted at a record rate.

“Right, now the French bulldog and the English bulldogs are the hot ticket,” said Kathy Jackson from Norcal Bulldog Rescue.

Last year in L.A., a robber attacked Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole two of her Frenchies. Last month in Oakland, a pair of French bulldogs were stolen from the backseat of their owner’s car.

“They are stealing these dogs thinking they are going to be able to resell them or breed them because they are going for so much, “Jackson said.

So, what makes these dogs such a big target? Jackson said it’s not only their price — averaging $4,500 a dog for Frenchies — it’s also their small size (around 22 pounds) making them easy to take. For both English and French bulldogs, thieves are looking to make designer coat colors. Jackson said breeding for trendy colors requires dogs to breed within their own family and comes with risks.

“For some reason, they have been breeding these dilute color like the blues and the lavenders,” said Jackson. “With breeding like that you are going double back to get serious health issues on top of that,” she said.

Micha is offering a $10,000 reward and just wants to be reunited with the missing part of her family.

“That’s our baby and we want her back,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

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