HOUSTON – The owners of a two-and-a-half-year-old French bulldog named Kirby are happy to have their beloved pet back home after he was taken during a violent armed robbery in Houston.
As KPRC first reported, the crime occurred around 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a Houston neighborhood near downtown.
The victims of the robbery said they were out walking their dog when two men attacked them from behind and demanded that the couple give them their dog.
According to the victim, one of the men was armed with an AR-15, KPRC reported. He told reporters that he was fighting with one of the men for a few seconds before the second robber fired the rifle in his direction, with a bullet flying right past him.
“When he fired the shot, I let go. I didn’t want to give him my dog but I didn’t want to get killed either,” the victim told KPRC.
The couple then ran back to their home and called the police, however, they reported that the robbers circled their house several times before eventually fleeing the area.
On Sunday the couple received a phone call from a woman who claimed to have found Kirby and provided an accurate description of the pooch.
“She got my number from the collar. She almost immediately asked for money. We figured it was a setup,” the victim told KPRC.
The woman set up a time and location to drop off Kirby and on the way there, the couple flagged down a Houston Police officer who was able to help them.
According to KPRC, the couple never saw the woman but when they arrived near the drop-off point an officer spotted Kirby, who is now back home with his owners.
Police said the robbers were seen driving a light brown four-door Toyota Camry, Texas license plate DF1-J591. Anyone with information is asked to call the Houston Police Department at 713-884-3131.
This isn’t the only instance of a bulldog puppy being snatched in the Houston area. In November, a Houston woman was miraculously left with just scratches and bruises after clinging to the hood of a speeding car on Nov. 4 in an attempt to save a $10,000 exotic bulldog. Read more on that story here.