A woman in Pasadena is pleading for the return of her beloved dog Rocco, who has been missing for weeks.
KNX News' Nataly Tavidian spoke to Jackie Luca, Rocco's owner, who said that she's been harassed by a group of people who claim to have him since his disappearance in early February.
“To know they’re hurting my dog, it just hurts," Luca said. "They would call me put me on speaker and I could hear my dog crying. It’s torturing me."
The last time that Luca saw Rocco, her daughter's service dog, was when he ran outside of their house for his morning walk. She says that she had her back turned to him for about 20 seconds as she came outside to lock up the home. When she looked back, he was gone.
She searched the neighborhood frantically, hopeful that the 2-year-old Rottweiler would turn up. They covered the area in posters, offering a $2,000 reward for his return.
Soon after the posters went up, she started to receive texts and calls.
"It’s been stressful," Luca said. "I feel like they don’t care or they’re not showing interest because it’s a dog. For me it’s safety, it’s my kids safety. They know who my kids are. They sent nude pictures to my daughter. It seems bizarre but it’s real. It’s really happening."
She said she showed Pasadena Police the text messages, and they told her that one of the numbers is linked to a murder suspect from a 2021 case. Luca said the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has now taken an interest in this case as a result.
While particularly cruel, police said that it's not entirely uncommon for scammers to do this, especially if there's a cash reward involved.
Luca said the people reaching out to her haven't mentioned the money.
She said the harassment doesn't stop at the text messages.
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Since the messages started, Luca said that the person who took Rocco has been stalking her and her family, and while they don't know who he is, they've seen him more than once.
"He came to my apartment on Sunday," she said. "That's when I called the police. It took three or four hours for Pasadena police to even show interest in coming to my apartment, or dispatching somebody. I don't even know if they showed up to my apartment."
Luca is concerned and emotionally exhausted over the entire ordeal, just hopeful that Rocco can be returned safely.
What makes things worse is that Luca's other dog just died. She thinks he died of a broken heart.
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