LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A family is desperately asking for their sick dog to be returned after the French bulldog was stolen at gunpoint last week in Hollywood.
The pet’s owner, Lisa Staroselskaya, said her mother-in-law had just gotten off work Wednesday and walked the dog—whose name is Mona—as part of her daily routine.
The woman and the dog were walking in the area of Detroit Street between Fountain and De Longpre avenues around 7 p.m. when Staroselskaya said three men wearing face coverings and black clothing exited a black sedan with tinted windows and approached the dog.
Staroselskaya said one of the men put a gun to her mother-and-law’s head, scaring the woman and Mona, who ran off across the street.
One of the other suspects ran after the dog while the gunman remained with the woman, according to Staroselskaya. The men were able to eventually grab the dog and took off with her in the sedan, she said.
While Staroselskaya says her family is devastated by Mona being taken, she’s grateful her mother-and-law was not hurt.
“I feared if she tried to resist, I’m pretty sure they would have smacked her,” she said.
Staroselskaya added that while French bulldogs might be a coveted breed right now, 3-year-old Mona and her illnesses would surely be more of a burden to anyone who takes her.
“What they don’t know is they got the wrong one because she has medical problems,” Staroselskaya said. “And she’s sick, so they can’t breed her. She has really bad anxiety.”
Mona was wearing a red harness and attached to a red leash when she was taken. Mona is blue-gray in color.
The suspects were described to police as Black males in their 20s wearing black ski masks, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Staroselskaya said her family is working with the LAPD to identify the robbers in addition to offering a $5,000 reward for the dog’s safe return, no questions asked.
“I just want her back,” she said. “She’s sick and she needs to be home with her family that’s been taking care of her. We just want our baby back.”
The robbery happened near the same area where robbers shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, and stole her bulldogs earlier this year. Fischer has since recovered and the dogs were returned.
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