A Los Angeles-based woman risked it all after her French bulldog was allegedly stolen from her.
According to KTLA, the incident happened on Jan. 18 while Ali Zacharias was enjoying lunch with her dog, Onyx, at a Whole Foods in downtown L.A. around 2:30 p.m.
A woman suddenly began calling to the dog while approaching Zacharias’ table. The dog was sitting underneath her owner’s chair before the unknown woman grabbed the leash and began to walk away with him.
“I didn’t think that somebody was stealing my dog,” said Zacharias to KTLA. “I thought it was a misunderstanding, so I said, ‘That’s my dog, Excuse me,’ and she wasn’t listening.”
The suspect then walked outside and into a getaway car, a white Kia Forte sedan with a missing hubcap on the driver’s front side.
“I tried to follow her into the car, but I got in there and there were four people in the car,” Zacharias said.
She was pushed out of the car by the suspects who locked the doors. However, Zacharias stepped in front of the car and screamed for help.
“Nobody came and the next thing I know, the car’s driving into me and I fell onto the hood,” she added. “It was horrifying. As he started to go faster and faster I’m like, ‘I’m about to die. This is my death. Right now. I’m about to die.’”
A witness, Harrison Pessy, recorded footage of this incident from his phone, showing Zacharias clinging to the hood as the suspects drove down DTLA at full speed. He thought to take his phone and record when he heard screeching tires and a woman screaming.
“They sped off and unfortunately took this woman with him,” Pessy told the local outlet. “If someone tried to steal my dog, I’d probably try to kill them myself. It’s devastating that someone would take someone’s animal.”
After driving down several blocks, the suspects made a sharp turn that eventually threw Zacharias to the ground.
While describing the suspects, Zacharias said, “The woman who stole my dog was African-American as was the other three people in the car. There were three females, all overweight, and there was a male driving. No tattoos. They were all wearing sweats and t-shirts.”
Law enforcement officials have apparently gathered surveillance footage from nearby cameras to track down the thieves and hopefully get a clearer look at the license plate.
The stolen dog was described as a black Merle French bulldog with a spotted coat and different colored eyes.
“They stole my child away from me,” said Zacharias. “I’m just praying that I can get him back.”
Unfortunately, a number of French bulldog kidnappings have been making headlines lately in the Golden State.
In November, 12 French bulldogs worth a combined $100,000 were stolen from a local pet store in Gardena, California, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
A man named Stefan Becker had his three-year-old Frenchie, Bruno, stolen during an early morning walk in Ladera Heights last May, NBC Los Angeles reported. Four masked suspects physically assaulted Becker before fleeing with the dog in a silver Toyota Camry.
Bruno was eventually returned to an animal shelter and reunited with Becker, but his assailants remain at large.
Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot multiple times by a dognapper in West Hollywood and ran off with the singer’s dogs, Koji and Gustav, in 2021. Fischer survived the shooting and described the ordeal as a “very close call with death” on his Instagram.
Days later, a woman named Jennifer McBride returned the dogs to police officers at an LAPD station. McBride tried to sue the pop singer, claiming she didn’t receive $500,000 in reward money she was entitled to. A judge dismissed the case, citing that McBride pleaded no contest to knowingly receiving the stolen dogs.
