French bulldog reunited with couple after he was stolen at gunpoint
LOS ANGELES - It started out as a typical Monday morning for the young city-dwelling couple; they walked their beloved French Bulldog dog, Meech, just a couple blocks from LA Live.
As one picked up after the puppy, the other walked him on a leash. According to 22-year-old Isaiah Ramos, he heard a car door open, then felt a gun to his back demanding the purebred French Bulldog be turned over. A second man exited the vehicle.
At the same time, 20-year-old Charlie Johnston looked up to see her boyfriend and their pet both in peril as Ramos was forced to turn over their puppy. The two men in the black vehicle were making off with their dog, who they call their baby.
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But what Ramos did next might be why the couple has since been reunited with Meech.
Ramos took out his cell phone, captured images of one suspect with the dog on a leash; the suspects’ vehicle and the vehicle’s license plate. I pointed out the obvious – that this was a risky thing to do – when the dognappers were armed and brazen, striking in broad daylight.
"All I could think about was how we were going to get our dog back," Ramos said.
Their first move was to contact the Los Angeles Police Department. Then Isaiah and Charlie flooded social media with the images Isaiah had taken of their pet.
It was a sleepless night. The couple woke up tired and worried. They had created a shrine in their home to Meech, filled with his favorite toys.
"We hoped, prayed and trusted," the couple said.
By early afternoon, they got the break they hoped for! A caller told them she had their pet.
After meeting at a vet’s office in South Los Angeles, where a chip implant confirmed the dog was Meech they drove home with their dog. We met them 30 minutes after picking up Meech. He was still wrapped in a green blanket, swaddled like a baby and they would not put him down.
LAPD had little to say about the case. But the couple told me they likely wouldn’t walk their dog in the city anymore.
As for Tuesday night, they were staying in, making dinner and giving Meech lots of love.
"They hoped the felons would get caught, so they don’t do this to anyone else," the couple said.
Of course, their story is not unusual. In the last year, there has been a rash of thefts of valuable French Bulldogs; some at gunpoint, including Lady Gaga’s treasured Frenchies. Depending on their pedigree, this desirable breed can go for as much as $5,000 in large cities like Los Angeles.
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