Share and Follow
A FAMILY fell victim to a dog theft scam but looked down the barrel of a gun to fight back.
French bulldog “Papa” was taken from his home in Del Paso Heights in Sacramento, California.
The adult pooch was in the fenced yard on November 14 for a few minutes to relieve himself when he was stolen, according to owner Marissa.
Speaking to CBS News, Marissa explained that the family’s ring doorbell camera had been tampered with so the moment Papa was taken was not caught on camera.
“He was at the front door and it was recording, but once he was gone, there was nothing,” Marissa said.
The family immediately took to social media in a bid to get help to retrieve their beloved dog and the following morning received unusual messages that immediately raised red flags.
“Your stories aren’t aligning…it’s not making any sense to me,” she said.
Marissa received messages from a man claiming that his older brother had paid a homeless man $1000 for the Frenchie in a local park.
According to the messages, the man bought the dog for his daughter and spent all of his savings on it.
A picture of the pooch proved to Marissa that it was Papa as he had a Star Wars collar on.
“My brother can’t get ahold of the guy we got the dog from to get his money back,” one of the messages seen by CBS said.
The messages told Marissa she would have to pay $1000 for the return of her dog.
“My brother spent most of his money on him, he wants to give him back but he needs his money back,” the messages said.
“Can I have some type of proof you have the money before I send the address – people always try to play me out of my money so I just wanna make sure.”
Instead of paying for their dog, the family decided to turn up at the given address and take back Papa.
Read Related Also: Grieving mom pays $5,775 to buy gravestone for her late son – but ‘got physically ill when she realized what happened’
“They pretty much just told us, we are not giving you your dog unless you give us our $1,000,” Marissa said
“My husband was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to grab him. He’s our dog.”
“He’s a son to me, he’s a brother to my kids. They love him to death,” she added.
Top ten dog breeds stolen in the US
Specific dog breeds are more often taken that others as they are worth more money due to popularity, resale value, or distinctinve features
- Labrador Retriever
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- French Bulldog
- Chihuahua
- Yorkshire Terrier
- English Bulldog
- German Shepherd
- Maltese
- Shih Tzu
- Siberian Husky
*Source: Dog Time
When at the address, the family was faced with a group of teenagers and as they grabbed their dog, Marissa says she and her husband were held at gunpoint.
“The young boy ran up with a gun and started chasing us,” she said.
“We got in the car and just left. I even said, ‘You’re going to shoot and kill somebody over a dog that’s not even yours?’
“‘You’ll be in jail looking stupid’.”
With Papa back at his rightful home, the Sacramento Police Department and the Citrus Heights Police Department are investigating the issues.
The threats to the family have continued, according to Marissa who says she is receiving calls from restricted numbers demanding money and saying they want the money.
In addition to this, their neighbor had their dog stolen from their yard earlier in the month.
According to a survey by ASPCA, only 6% of the dogs are retrieved by owners after dog theft.
Meanwhile, data from AKC Reunite shows that dog theft in the United States has increased by almost 40% when compared to the numbers reported in 2021.
