The case of the stolen 4 month-old English bulldog puppy stands out.

The family makes an appeal for the return of Romeo. And they’re even offering a reward. Brandie Nelson, “They came in through the back of the house kicked the back door in.”

Jon Nelson, “It was surprising because you know we’ve lived out here for a while. I’ve actually lived in this area and I’ve never had any problems like that.”

A brand new door and protection from ADT were the first things the Nelson family’s counting on to make sure they don’t become victims again.

Last Thursday burglars broke in and left little behind.

Jon Nelson, “I walked in. The first thing I noticed was the couch turned over and, you know, I looked over and the TV was gone. I went through the rest of the house and things were just turned over, you know, kind of destroyed and everything like that.”

They tell me the crooks swiped several plasma tvs, jewelry, money and numerous game systems along with the video games.

Brandie, “Very upset, very violated just really shocked.”

Police say it’s more than $10,000 dollars in losses.

But what this family misses the most is not *what* but *who* they say got stolen.

Brandie, “His name is Romeo. He’s an English Bulldog. He’s four months old. He was a Christmas present. He’s definitely happy, playful. Probably a little bit bigger than the picture. He’s grown quite a bit. He’s just a very happy friendly dog.”

They say they left Romeo in this cage with Ginger.

When they surveyed the mess the burglars made the puppy was no where to be found.

Jon, “I didn’t actually realize he was gone till probably around 10 minutes later.”

It’s a blow especially to the children.

Brandie, “The kids miss him. I can’t say how long they cried when all of this happened so that’s one thing we’re hoping that we can at least retrieve.”

Jon, “The other stuff you know it’s replaceable the dog is kind of not replaceable.”

The family is offering a small reward for any information that leads to the return of Romeo.

Call 423-400-9163 or 423-400-5143 if you can help the family.

Police tell us the puppy is worth $1500.

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Spike, a defenseless puppy, remains under medical care two weeks after being beaten with a shovel and thrown against the ground by his owner.

East Elmhurst neighbor and eyewitness Alvin Lau captured the abuse on his cell phone’s video camera on Wednesday, February 24, as owner and alleged suspect, Maria Aguilar, 36, inflicted injuries on the 11-month-old English bulldog.

Lau called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), which transferred Spike to its Manhattan hospital.

“If this witness had not reported this cruelty to the ASPCA, Spike may well have continued to suffer abuse at the hands of his owner,” said ASPCA assistant director Joseph Pentangelo. “It is a crime that someone would do this to a defenseless pet.”

ASPCA special agent Deborah Ryan arrested Aguilar, 36, on Friday, March 5, at the 115th Precinct, after Aguilar turned herself in and the ASPCA’s “investigation yielded sufficient probable cause to support that arrest.”

According to Ryan, Aguilar admitted that she threw Spike and hit him with a shovel. She has been charged with felony interference with or injury to certain domestic animals, and two misdemeanors: criminal possession of a weapon and “Over-driving, torture and injury of an animal or under-feeding.”

In 2008, the ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) unit, which upholds and enforces NY State animal cruelty laws, investigated 5,227 reported cases of animal cruelty, made 78 arrests, and rescued more than 400 animals.

According to Stacy Wolf, vice president and chief legal counsel of the HLE, though the number of investigations and arrest decreased, at least one third of the 2009 arrests have been for felonies.

“In recent years, cases have shown recognized links between violence to animals and violence in families,” said Wolf, who oversees 22 licensed Peace Officers with power of arrest. “People who go through the trouble to torture and create suffering may be doing it to human victims, too.”

Rhonda Windham, an anti-cruelty veterinarian at ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital on 92nd Street in Manhattan, said Spike’s veterinary medical records indicated he had been seen at least nine times by a clinic in Woodside between June 2009 and February 2010 for surgical and ophthalmologist consultations.

Part of Spike’s laundry list of physical abuse includes: a neck fracture; blindness in his right eye and injury to limbs that have cause lifelong lameness and some degree of pain in his joints, according to Windham, who added that Spike has sustained multiple injuries consistent with blunt force trauma.

The cruelty to Spike has shaken another East Elmhurst resident, Maria Orzo, who volunteers with the organization, Neighborhood Cats, that controls the cat population through the trap-neuter-return method. Orzo said she can’t get Spike’s suffering off her mind.

“She hit him and the little animal just cried. Just thinking about what happened to that poor dog is hair-raising,” said the animal-lover, who has seen the video of the abuse on the Internet. “I have two puppies that look like him and when I look at the photos, I just start to cry.”

Let’s hope this case of dog abuse send out a message to all pet owners to be loving and understanding owners in as much as we would expect our pets to love us back.

Technorati Tags: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dog abuse, east elmhurst, English Bulldog Puppy, maria aguilar, news, woman arrested

Almost four months later, that hope, and their prayers, was rewarded.

“It was a long shot, but we found her,” said a much-relieved Heim on Monday night. “Bethany and I always had the feeling that she was safe. We were getting constant tips and leads. People really cared about Maggie and us. It was incredible. We finally located her last week and brought her home on Friday night.”

She had not been abused by the dog-napper.

An individual who lives in Williamsport, but had spent time in Northumberland snatched Maggie.

Heim was tipped off last week by a “concerned citizen” in Northumberland who responded to a $500 reward offered by Heim and Whyne for information leading to the recovery of their dog.

“This man thought he knew who might have taken the Maggie,” Heim said. “Turns out, he was right.”

Heim declined to identify the informant.

“I want to respect his wishes to be anonymous, but the truth is that without the reward, I don’t think we would have found Maggie,” he said.

Heim called the Williamsport police after receiving the tip.

“We were lucky,” he said. “A Northumberland borough policeman, who now worked in Williamsport, was familiar with the case. The department was extremely cooperative and helpful.”

Heim drove up to Williamsport on Friday evening and met police at the home where Maggie had been taken.

Whyne, a nursing assistant at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, drove directly from work to Williamsport.

“I was very nervous,” she said. “Our hopes had been dashed so often. I thought, ‘Is this for real?’ I had many nights where I just cried. I mean, Maggie is my child.”

As she approached the house in Williamsport, a police officer motioned for her to come to the porch and identify the dog.

It was Maggie.

“The minute she saw me, I fell to my knees, and she started jumping at me and kissing me,” Whyne said. “We immediately identified her to police and then took her home.”

Whyne and Heim decided not to press charges against the individual.

“It might have been different if Maggie had been mistreated, but she wasn’t,” Heim said. “She was well-fed and groomed. Besides, our whole purpose in offering the reward was to get Maggie back. I wasn’t out to prosecute or pursue this as a criminal matter.”

They had been living in a Northumberland duplex for about a month before the dog went missing.

“It happened in an instant,” Whyne recalled. “It was a beautiful fall afternoon, and Maggie was in our fenced-in backyard sunning herself. I was in the house. Adam suddenly came in the house looking for Maggie. ‘Is she here?” he asked.

She was gone.

“We searched the neighborhood,” Whyne said. “Kids, parents, everyone looked for her. By the end of the day, we had the feeling that someone had just reached in and taken her. She’s such a friendly dog. She would have just jumped into a car.”

Whyne was dogged in her quest to get her pet back. She never gave up hope.

She placed lost-and-found advertisements every day in The Daily Item. They also hung posters and distributed fliers.

“People reacted with disbelief and anger that someone would take a pet,” Heim said.

And although Whyne had tons of calls and suggested leads, nothing panned out.

In the interim, they adopted another dog, Jack, a Schnauzer. They already had a poodle mix named Stewie.

“With Maggie gone, we wanted to give Stewie company,” she said.

Now, all three dogs run and play all over the house together.

“Maggie has to get used to the house again and to Jack, but they’re starting to get along,” Whyne said, laughing.

The day after bringing Maggie home, they began taking down the fliers they had posted all over town.

“We’re getting cheers when people recognize Maggie,” Whyne added. “People are so happy that she is back home and safe.”

“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support we received,” she said. “People, even strangers, kept telling us, you’d find her. Everything will be OK. To all those people, I want to say this is a story with a very happy ending.”

Technorati Tags: adam heim, bethany whyne, lost english bulldog, maggie, news, northumberland

FORT WAYNE, Ind., (WANE) – A late night robbery a day before Christmas Eve left the Petland Store at 10538 Maysville Road with three less puppies.

The suspect or suspects snatched three purebred dogs, along with about $20,000 dollars in merchandise.

Employees found out about the robbery early Thursday.

“At 7 o’clock my kennel manager and staff came in to feed the puppies and clear the kennels and everything,” recalled store owner Kit Farrar. “That’s when my kennel manager noticed something was wrong.”

Farrar rushed in to find the puppies missing, along with empty shelves and racks. The thieves took an English bulldog, Italian Greyhound, and Chiweenie, a Dachshund and Chihuahua mix.

Each of the pups was between nine to ten weeks old and anything but cheap.

“The bulldog is almost four thousand dollars, that’s our most expensive breed,” Farrar told NewsChannel 15. “We just want the puppies back safe. They’re very young and need to be returned immediately so they can continue their veterinary care.”

Farrar says the robbers pried their way in through the back dooor, and then kicked in his office door to steal the safe.

And they didn’t stop there.

“A whole bunch of our Eukanuba food, all our electronic collars, designer shampoos, retractable leashes, a bunch of filters from our fish department. It seemed like they were collecting the right things to take,” said Farrar.

Because of the volume and sizes of the items stolen, Farrar supsects more than one robber was involved. He says police were able to find a few fingerprints to analyze.

The store had no alarm, or cameras. There is some surveillance video from the nearby Wal-Mart that could help though. The possibility of the robbery being an inside job has just about been ruled out.

In the meantime, Farrar’s installed a deadbolt, and an alarm system is next. Police are also watching the building.

Petland’s partnered with a group called HelpMeFindMYPET to get the word out about the heist and they’re hoping for a safe return.

HelpmefindMYPET is an organization that helps recover lost ot stolen animals. It reports that the stolen puppies were all microchipped and enrolled in its registry. The group has sent out an alert for all three puppies and is working closely with Fort Wayne police to locate them.

If you have information on the stolen dogs, call HelpmefindMYPET’s 24 hour toll free hotline at 866-699-FIND (3463) or visit the website.

Technorati Tags: english bulldog, fort wayne, news, pet store robbed, robbery

Kimberly Wray said she had just let her 3-month-old English bulldog named Clay outside her residence to go to bathroom Saturday.

Minutes later he was gone.

“I started to panic,” she said. “He doesn’t run off, because he’s scared of cars.”

Not only was her dog missing, but two kittens named Obi and Jax had vanished as well. All that was left were the animals’ collars.

After posted a missing pet notice on the Internet, someone contacted her Wednesday saying they had picked up her dog off the side of U.S. Highway 31. The dog appeared headed toward Pulaski.

Wray said she’s glad to have Clay back, but she’s still worried about her two cats.

“It really has put a damper on our Christmas,” she said. “We are relieved to finally have Clay back, but we are still very concerned about the kittens.”

Maury County Sheriff’s Detective Terry Chandler said authorities have charged 47-year-old Laurie Montgomery with theft of more than $1,000 for allegedly stealing the pets.

According to an arrest warrant, Montgomery was seen carrying an English bulldog to the Maury County Animal Shelter, though officials refused to take in the canine.

Montgomery’s home at 3893 Bigbyville Road is about 1 1/2 miles away from Wray’s residence.

Wray has been reunited with her English bulldog while Montgomery is charged with allegedly stealing the pet.

Montgomery was released from custody after posting $2,500 bond.

Several attempts to contact Montgomery were unsuccessful.

Chandler said Montgomery runs a rabbit rescue farm in Columbia. The nonprofit organization “rescues injured and abandoned domestic rabbits, while educating the public on rabbit care and behavior,” according to the Bunny Rescue’s Web site.

Before the dog was found, the detective speculated Montgomery tried giving the dog to a friend.

Chandler said if an animal is seen running loose, the best thing to do is call animal control.

“People will go around thinking they’re doing the right thing, but it turns out they’re just picking up somebody’s pet,” he said.

As for Wray, she said she will keep a close eye on her animals.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Maury County Sheriff’s Department at (931) 388-5151.

Technorati Tags: english bulldog, kimberly wray, maury county, news, pet thief cases

“I know it will work,” she said.

Brooke Botello’s mother witnessed how their 6 month-old English bulldog got snatched right in front of the family’s home.

“That makes me feel really sad,” Brooke said. “She was like a new-born puppy. She was that cute.”

Life isn’t the same without Brooke’s four-legged playmate, shares her mother.

“It’s really different without her,” she continues. “I used to play tag with her. She used to chase me around.”

With Christmas just around the corner, Brooke knew what to do. She sits at the back of the family’s car after unsuccessfully checking a shelter for Rosita. Brooke expresses her dilemma to writing about it.

“I said, ‘Dear Santa, (what) I really want for Christmas is for Rosita to come home. So please try your best, Santa. I believe you. So please bring her back. Please. Love, Brooke.”

Brooke’s grandmother, Marjorie King, said she doesn’t know what to tell her.

“She’s convinced Santa is going to bring Rosita back to her,” King said.

“The reindeer will track it,” Brooke said. “They have good noses.”

“The toys she wanted, she doesn’t want any more,” her grandmother said. “How do you prepare a child that more than likely, your dog is not coming back?”

She said she doesn’t have the heart to tell her there are some gifts even Santa can’t provide.

Brooke’s family filed a police report, but there is little information to investigate. Her mother only had a general description of a white pickup truck and didn’t get a good look at the driver.

“Santa is a good person, so he’ll try his best,” Brooke said. “I know he will.”

Technorati Tags: animals, brooke botello, christmas wish, dognapped puppy, English Bulldog Puppy, news, pets

She was referring to the Bushkill community’s security force. On Saturday, a Pine Ridge security guard gunned down the family’s 10-month-old English bulldog puppy, Shaq.

It wasn’t the first time that their bulldog got loose from their yard and wandered down the street.

“He had a tendency to go exploring,” said Albarron, a police officer who was at work in New York at the time of the shooting. Her son and father-in-law noticed Shaq was missing and searched for him.

According to what Albarron has been able to piece together, the incident did not happen far away. Shaq was spotted by a homeowner, a woman who was walking down the road with a small child. The dog followed the woman who called Pine Ridge public safety.

The security guard reportedly tried to capture Shaq using a net, may have sprayed the dog with pepper spray then shot the puppy in the head. The same woman who called public safety relayed the account to Albarron.

The couple search for Shaq but ended up with no news. It prompted Albarron’s husband, Michael Albarron, to call Pine Ridge public safety and reported the dog missing.

“They said we’ll look for your dog. There was a dog that was loose – a pit bull – they said, and they shot him down,” Michael Albarron said.

He hung up, thought about it, and then called back to public safety to ask for a description. The description sounded like Shaq.

“I called my son,” Michael Albarron said, and told him, “Go down to the gate, I have a feeling they shot Shaq.’”

The dog’s body was retrieved from Pine Ridge public safety and brought home. Blooming Grove State police were called, but the family says they were told the shooting was a civil matter. State police confirmed the matter is between the Albarron family and Pine Ridge public safety and that an official report would have to come from Pine Ridge. But authorities at Pine Ridge are not talking.

At the Pine Ridge office, officials who identified themselves as the community manager and the board president refused to disclose their names. They would not say if the security guard who shot the dog is still on duty.

“We don’t know how far this thing is going to go. We can’t comment,” the community manager said.

The Albarron family has contacted an attorney and will try to pursue the shooting in court.

“This community has come to pieces,” Gloribel said. “We work hard. We don’t bother anyone. We pay our dues. They put these toy cops in here with guns.” She believes security guards should be allowed to carry Tasers or batons but not guns.

“(The security guard) doesn’t understand the pain he caused. I want justice for my dog and my family,” Gloribel said. “I just want to sell my house and get out of here.”

News courtesy of Pocono Record of Pennsylvania

Technorati Tags: English Bulldog News, news, pennsylvania, pet dog, Pocono family seeks justice for English bulldog gunned

Nothing compares to the value of their English bulldog, not even the thousands of dollars worth of electronics stolen. Boisvert shared that they consider Princess as their baby.

“We just want the dog back,” he said yesterday, after hours of postering the neighborhood and making phone calls.

Boisvert left for work around 6:30 a.m. Thursday and Topolinski set out about an hour later. When Boisvert returned home at 3 p.m., he walked over to the puppy’s cage and discovered she was missing.

Soon after, he noticed several other items were gone, including a flat-screen TV, an Xbox 360, a Mac laptop and a $1,000 camera Topolinski’s parents gave her as a going-away gift when she moved from Ontario to Edmonton two months ago.

“There were no signs of forced entry,” Boisvert said. “The windows were latched, the doors were locked.”

“We don’t care about our possessions. We don’t have property insurance, but we don’t care that we’re going to lose out and have to replace our stuff. It’s our dog. It’s like losing a baby.”

The pair is doing everything they can to find Princess, phoning vet offices, calling media outlets and posting information on the internet. Since then, the pair have been doing everything they can to help find Princess, phoning vet offices, calling media outlets and posting information on the Internet.

Despite having all their pricey belongings stolen, the couple is putting up a reward for Princess’s return.

The dog had her registration number tattooed on her stomach. She was mostly red with a white face and chest, and black spots on her stomach.

“Even if the people who stole her want to claim the reward, we don’t care,” Boisvert said.

The dog owner is asking anyone who has any information to contact police or e-mail him at damienboisvert@hotmail.com.

Technorati Tags: animals, edmonton couple's apartment burglarized, English Bulldog Puppy, news, pets, theft

Wait says the two men spent over an hour with him and his wife talking about bulldogs. He says it was clear the men were very familiar with the breed by the knowledge they had and the questions they asked.

Wait says finally, one of the suspects said he was going to his car to get the $1,500 needed to buy the puppy. He returned with a handgun.

Wait says the suspect, Alan Lara, pointed the gun at him and his wife and ordered them to go to the bathroom and shut the door. Wait says Lara’s partner, Alfredo Gonzalez Junior, helped Lara go through the house. The Waits say Lara and Gonzalez left with some cash, jewelry, phones, a purse, and the puppy they called Miss Brindie.

When the Waits were sure the suspects had gone, they escaped out of the bathroom. Cindy Wait ran to their neighbor’s house for help, while Dudley Wait ran to his Schertz EMS truck to use the radio to call in for help.

Thirty-six hours later, an alert police officer in Red Oak noticed the two suspects at a gas station. When they saw the officer, police say they tried to duck behind their car. The officer says he went to take a closer look and discovered all of the items in thebackseat that had been registered as stolen. Also among those items was Miss Brindie.

The Waits say they could not give enough credit to the Schertz police department and to that alert officer in Red Oak.

courtesy of Amanda Stanzilis / KENS 5

Technorati Tags: dog breeder, dudley wait, English Bulldog Puppy, news, robbery

Cincinnati - Everett Smith Jr. gets 3 years in prison for selling English bulldog puppies online. He admitted he took the money even when there were no puppies to sell.

Smith, 26, of North College Hill, pleaded guilty to money laundering, telecommunications fraud and four counts of theft. The theft count was from each of the four of the victims who pressed charges in the bulldog scam. The prosecutors dropped seven of the 13 charges against him, Smith will serve three-year prison sentence starting on September 15.

Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor William Anderson said Smith sat down with authorities and provided details about the puppy scams and other scams he committed.

According to Anderson, Smith sent some of the money he made in the puppy scam to Nigeria. The authorities are not sure if this information is true given that smith is a U.S. citizen.

It has not been confirmed how much Smith made from the puppy scam. A part of the deal is the prosecutors won’t press more charges if Smith fully cooperates.

It has been known that Smith advertised puppies fro sale and sold each for at least $1,000.

Technorati Tags: English Bulldog Puppy, news, scam, smith