Up to $5,000 Reward Offered for Safe Return of French Bulldog Stolen at Gunpoint
For Immediate Release:
February 24, 2023
Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382
PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the safe return of a French bulldog as well as the arrest and conviction of two men—and any other accomplices—responsible for stealing the dog at gunpoint from his guardian on E. 72nd Street on Saturday, February 11. Locating the dog is crucial, as he may have special veterinary needs since French bulldogs are a breathing-impaired breed (BIB) because their snouts are so far back against their skulls.
According to reports, around 10 a.m., a 73-year-old woman was walking her black French bulldog, King Tut, when two men who had parked a black, late-model Infiniti in a nearby lot approached her. One of the men—armed with a gun—demanded that the woman give him the 2-year-old dog, threw him in the trunk of the Infiniti, and drove off. Chicago police describe the armed suspect as a Black male between the ages of 18 and 21 who was wearing black sweatpants, a black shirt, and a black ski mask. Police ran the car’s license plates—captured on a nearby surveillance camera—and determined the Infiniti was stolen.
Police are investigating but don’t yet have any leads, so PETA is asking for the public’s help to find King Tut and the people who stole him.
“This dog is in danger after being taken from his devastated guardian by an armed man in broad daylight,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA urges anyone with information to come forward so that King Tut can be reunited with his family and the criminals held accountable and stopped from inflicting any more harm.”
Police have stated that French bulldogs like King Tut are sold for as much as $3,000, and PETA notes that the best way to reduce the demand for “purebred” dogs is to adopt from a shelter and never buy from a breeder, pet store, or potentially shady dealer. French bulldogs and other BIBs are bred for a particular look, resulting in drastically shortened airways that cause an array of painful and distressing symptoms—including labored breathing, snorting, gagging, and collapsing—and make them more susceptible to vomiting, exercise intolerance, heatstroke, and even death.
Tipsters should contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-746-6000.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
