Amityville Record

Pets, Pets, Pets


 

Many were shocked by the violent theft of Lady Gaga’s French Bulldogs in Hollywood last week, especially since her pet sitter, a family friend, was ambushed by the two assailants and shot while trying to protect her three dogs. Street videos show Miss Asia, the Frenchie that escaped, rushing back to check the seriously wounded 30-year-old man as the robbers drove away with her two canine buddies.

Next we learned Lady Gaga, in Rome filming a movie, offered a half million dollar reward, no questions asked, for the safe return of her Frenchies, Koji and Gustav. She called her dog walker friend a hero and prayed for his recovery. Some wondered whether this was the amount of ransom demanded, or a decoy ransom the police asked her to post. Others questioned whether such a huge sum would prompt more incidents from armed dognappers, or possibly jeopardize the safety of police on the case.

Then on Friday, Feb. 26, an unnamed woman walked into the Los Angeles Koreatown police station with the two dogs unharmed. LAPD said the woman found them and reached out to Lady Gaga’s staff. Other details were kept confidential for the sake of the ongoing criminal investigation and the woman’s safety. The police dismissed her involvement in the crime. Where did she find the dogs? Does this anonymous woman get the reward?

Charlotte, Manny, the Frenchie, and my English Toy Spaniel, with Chef Jean- Georges at a 2015 photo shoot for Bon Appetit magazine.

Manny, the Frenchie, and Charlotte, my English Toy Spaniel, with Chef Jean-Georges at a 2015 photo shoot for Bon Appetit magazine.

In January, a woman walking in San Francisco was robbed of her Frenchie at gun point. In another case last summer, a burglar broke into a Bay area home and stole two 10-week-old Frenchie puppies. The same month, a car thief in Berkley stole a car with a five-month-old Frenchie in the back seat. The car was recovered but without the dog. Dog thefts, especially of small, high-priced breeds, are on the rise.

More questions and many random thoughts remain with the Lady Gaga dog thieves still on the loose. Let’s explore a few:

Were Lady Gaga’s Frenchies targeted? Did the dog robbers know these were the singer’s dogs and/ or she was out of town? Some accounts suggest this dognapping was politically motivated because she sang at the inauguration. Or were the thieves looking for French Bulldogs because this popular breed has such a high resale price tag- up to $10,000, and decided to steal from a wealthy neighborhood? Were the dogs released quickly because the thieves assumed the dogs belonged to an affluent person but didn’t realize the dogs belonged to a celebrity, making it impossible to sell them?

French Bulldogs are a popular breed but also at a high risk for dog theft.

French Bulldogs are a popular breed but also at a high risk for dog theft.

Why are French Bulldogs so popular and expensive? French Bulldogs are the fourth most popular American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized breed in the U.S., and extremely popular in cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Their rise in demand can be attributed to many factors including small size for apartments; flat, human-like face with bat ears; ideal, quiet temperament; amiability with kids; easy grooming; pint-size pitbull look; celebrity influence; Instagram success; relatively low energy.

When my late English Toy Spaniel made a video for Bon Appétit magazine in 2015, her dinner date was Manny the Frenchie, billed “the world’s most followed Bulldog on social media.” He’s 10 years old now and still has 1.6 million fans on Facebook. Charlotte wasn’t fazed; she was more impressed with the gourmet courses Chef Jean-Georges was preparing for the two of them.

Supply and demand kicks in. Frenchies are not easy to breed. The puppies’ broad heads limit the size of litters and often require C-section deliveries. Color adds to the pup price tag. Solid blue and lilac tan, both hues of gray, or interesting markings on white are desirable. The short snouts are being bred shorter, making for worse breathing problems.

Flat faces (brachycephalic) lead to many respiratory problems in the breed. When Frenchies first became popular, NYC pet stores were importing puppies from European mill breeders. Many were winding up with Frenchie rescues because the owners couldn’t afford the vet bills. Some of the Frenchie genetic airway problems are cleft palates, pinched nostrils (stenotic nares), elongated soft palate and progressive tracheal and laryngeal collapse. Other inherited issues are deafness; eye defects like entropion and cherry eye plus physically debilitating conditions such as hip dysplasia and degenerative myelopathy usually seen in big breeds.

How do you protect your dog and yourself from pet theft? Usually the motive behind dog theft is quick resale. Dog flippers will either sell the dog, or hold out for the reward while pretending to have found the pilfered pooch. There are two million dog thefts each year, and only about 10% are ever recovered. Frenchies, Malteses and Yorkies are among the easiest and most desirable to grab and run.

First, your dog should have on tags and be microchipped with current contact info registered. Don’t do errands with your dog if your pup cannot be by your side at all times. Leaving a dog alone in a car or tied outside a store is an invitation to theft. Keep a close eye on your dog in the backyard. Dognappers will use any trick to lure your dog over to them. When walking your dog, use a relatively short leash, keep off the phone and stay vigilant of everything and everyone around you. If possible, when walking your dog at night, bring someone else along for the exercise.

Is dognapping considered a criminal offense? Not really. The majority of states consider dogs personal property. Only 15 states have laws that address dog theft in their criminal code. Most states consider pet theft a misdemeanor, with penalties of relatively small fines and little to no jail time.

Only California and Louisiana impose different charges and penalties based on the monetary value of the stolen dog. Virginia has the most stringent law. Stealing a dog is a Class 5 felony, punishable by up to 10 years in jail, regardless of the dog’s monetary value. If guilty of stealing a dog in Oklahoma, you face a felony conviction with state prison not less than six months or up to three years, and also face a fine equal to three times the value of the animal you stole (up to $500,000).

Meanwhile in New York, stealing a dog is a class E felony that could put the thief in jail up to six months. In 2014, New York raised its fine for dog theft from $200 to $1,000, regardless of the dog’s monetary value. Not very impressive.

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