A family in Castro Valley has been reunited with their French bulldog a little more than a week after it was taken from them at gunpoint, authorities said.
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office investigators found Tito on Tuesday at the home of a San Leandro family who had no idea the dog was stolen, according to authorities.
“This is a tremendous effort by the ACSO and the community,” sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Ray Kelly said. “A lot of people worked hard to get the word out on social media and through their networking. The community deserves credit for some of the tips that came in that were beneficial.”
The search for the dog also led to at least a half-dozen arrests, Kelly said, because authorities were able to link the vehicle used in the Jan. 15 dog snatching to other street robberies in the East Bay not involving animals. Authorities did not immediately have a specific number of suspects arrested but Kelly said some of them were juveniles.
Investigators have recovered that vehicle, as well as a vehicle stolen from the victim’s home later that same day.
According to the sheriff’s office, Tito was out for walk at about 5:30 p.m. with a woman and her adult daughter when a black 2019 Kia sport-utility vehicle pulled up in front of them on Norbridge Avenue.
Four or five people got out of the SUV, three of them holding guns, the sheriff’s office said. One suspect took a purse, while another snatched Tito from the daughter, the agency said.
The suspects then ran back into the Kia and took off west on Norbridge.
They returned around 9:45 p.m. to the woman’s home and stole her 2019 Mercedes AMG C63 coupe from the driveway, according to the sheriff’s office. The purse that had been taken during the snatching of the dog contained the woman’s wallet and keys to her home and car.
“As a dog owner, this case disturbed me, my agency and the community,” Sheriff Gregory Ahern said in a statement. “I directed our investigators to pursue all leads. I’m glad to see Tito is now reunited with his family. Thank you to our detectives and community members for supporting this effort.”
The case sparked a major response in the community, Kelly said, and tips that led to the dog began to come in almost immediately.
“There was a lot of pressure out there between community and law enforcement to get the dog and be aware of it,” he said.
Investigators do not know how the dog wound up at a family’s home in San Leandro.
“The family who had the dog had no idea he was stolen,” Kelly said. “We’re not pursuing (charges) anyway at this point. They got the dog believing they were helping.”
Deputies canvassed the neighborhood after the second car was stolen and found surveillance-camera footage, Kelly said. Investigators later learned that the Kia had been reported stolen by Oakland police and had been used in several prior armed robberies, he said.
