Nine-month-old Rosie, a merle French bulldog, was taken from her owner around 10 a.m. Saturday near Broderick and Beach streets in SF's Marina District; and the dog has since been recovered.
Rates of dognappings, especially those involving popular breeds (like Frenchies) have skyrocketed over the pandemic. Last year alone saw a slew of high-profile local dog thefts in the Bay Area — many of the robbers breaking car windows to snatch dogs while their owners were briefly away. Others were held at gunpoint, forced to hand over their beloved canine or face an abrupt end to their time on this mortal coil.
Unfortunately, Saturday's violent robbery of Rosie proved this uptick in dognappings might follow us into the new year.
⚠️ Help us find Rosie! ⚠️ https://t.co/ck5UjtVZ2n
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) January 1, 2022
"This morning at 10:05 am 'Rosie' a 9-month-old French Bulldog was out for a walk with her owner near Broderick & Beach in the Marina," the San Francisco Police Department tweeted Saturday. "A suspect approached and violently robbed the dog from the owner. The suspect fled with Rosie in a silver Chrysler 200 with partial plate 7JPM."
As the Chronicle noted, French bulldog puppies can garner high prices; a 20-week-old French bulldog can frequently be listed for well over $6K. And it's quite common now to see Craigslist ads featuring stolen dogs for sale. (More accredited online sites, like PuppySpot and Pet Finder, have more strict listing requirements and verification protocols that make it more difficult for scammers to sell dogs that are, in fact, not theirs.)
Update: As of Monday, the dog has been found, but we don't yet have details about how — or whether the $10,000 reward offered by her guardian was collected.
Related: Dog Stolen at Ferry Building Saturday Found and Reunited With Owners; Suspect Has Been Detained
Photo: Courtesy of Twitter via @SFPD