LOS ANGELES, CA — A French bulldog stolen at gunpoint in broad daylight near Downtown Los Angeles on Monday has been reunited with his owners.
Meech, a brindle French bulldog, is back with Isiah Ramos and Charlee Johnston today after they offered a $5,000 reward to help get the little pup back. It was a happy ending to an increasingly common ordeal in Los Angeles. Armed robberies targeting the popular breed have been reported across wide swaths of the city.
The dog was stolen Monday morning near the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Flower Street where the couple was walking the pet just before noon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Two men driving a black Infiniti and armed with semi-automatic handguns reportedly approached the couple and demanded the dog, dragging Meech back to their car.
Ramos described the ordeal to KTLA.
“When I turned around, I see a guy coming from the back seat and guy coming from the passenger, and I see that they both had guns,” he told KTLA. “He’s like a child to us. We love him dearly. Seeing him being dragged away was so heartbreaking for me.”
The couple spent 24 hours worrying about their pup and spreading word of the reward across social media and on flyers.
It worked. By the next day, a woman reached out, saying she found the dog wandering in South Los Angeles.
The couple gave the woman the reward and have Meech safely back at home, but the dog is a little shaken, and frankly, so is the couple Ramos told the Los Angeles Times.
“It happened in broad daylight, downtown L.A. We don’t feel comfortable walking him downtown anymore. It really impacted us,” Ramos told The Times. “These men don’t care. They’re willing to kill someone over a quick buck. That’s just insane.”
