District dog owners have been targeted in recent weeks by often armed thieves attempting to turn man’s best friend into a quick payday.
Bandits have taken canines at gunpoint, broken into homes and stolen cars with dogs inside.
Metropolitan Police said only one arrest has been made in the four pet thefts documented by authorities since late December.
“A lot of it has to do with greed. The demand for dog ownership in this country is far higher than the supply,” American Kennel Club spokeswoman Brandi Munden told The Washington Times. “Certain breeds are in higher demand, certain breeds cost more — and thieves know this.”
Two of those in-demand breeds — the extremely popular French Bulldog, and the American Bulldog — can fetch anywhere from $2,000 to almost $10,000.
A French Bulldog and a litter of American Bulldogs were snatched in separate incidents last weekend in Northwest along the busy U Street Corridor.
Police said a thief broke the window of a parked car Sunday evening and grabbed a 10-week-old Frenchie named Dak from the rear passenger seat.
The dog’s owner, authorities said, left Dak briefly to grab a pickup order from a nearby restaurant. Dak still hasn’t been found.
A day earlier, MPD said a crook absconded with a litter of eight American Bulldog puppies when the robber hopped inside a running car and sped off.
Police said the vehicle was recovered later on Saturday, and seven of the five-week-old dogs were returned to the Seventh District police station in Southeast by Sunday.
One of the puppies is presumably still with the thief.
Dog thefts — much like other forms of crime — saw significant spikes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 1,200 dogs were stolen in 2021, and that number shot up to over 1,500 a year later, according to the American Kennel Club, which tracks data with a microchipping program.
The AKC said the trend only started to cool a bit last year when roughly 1,400 dogs were stolen from their owners.
Ms. Munden said a good rule of thumb to follow is if you can’t take your dog inside a business, you shouldn’t be going to that establishment yourself.
Those interested in buying or selling a dog, she said, should go through a breeder.
Trying to sell a dog to someone you met online can be a precarious transaction, she said.
A Pennsylvania woman learned that last month when she was robbed of her Frenchie at gunpoint after arranging to sell the pooch in Southeast.
Court documents said a group of four people told the woman they wanted to take the dog, Mocha, inside a home on 14th Place SE so the dog could meet its new owner.
The victim didn’t agree to let the dog out of her sight, but one of the suspects distracted the woman while another picked up the dog, pulled off its collar and ran inside the building.
The filing said the woman chased after suspects until one of the thieves stopped and pulled out a gun, saying “Get lost [or] I’m going to shoot you.”
Police said they arrested 24-year-old Kyrie Holmes in connection to the armed robbery on Jan. 5.
Mr. Holmes was under court supervision after being accused of breaking into a home in Southeast in November. He was also arrested on gun charges in 2017 and 2020, but both cases were later dropped by prosecutors.
One situation that isn’t uncommon, Ms. Munden said, are theft crews that will have one person steal a dog and another accomplice pretend to find the pup so they can secure reward money.
It’s a similar situation to what happened with pop singer and actress Lady Gaga in 2021.
The entertainer was out of the country when her dog walker was shot in Los Angeles and her two Frenchies were stolen. Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for the dogs’ safe return, and two days later, a woman dropped them off at a police station and sought to cash in.
The woman was later charged in connection to the armed robbery because she had known some of the suspects for years.
What’s less common are thieves breaking into homes and stealing dogs.
One D.C. family experienced that on New Year’s Eve when a trio of thieves broke in and stole their seven-month-old Pitbull named Lola.
The dog was returned days later after a concerned citizen dropped Lola off at the First District police station.
Ms. Munden said the best way to protect your dog from getting stolen — and potentially resold — is to get it microchipped.
The chip will have the owner’s contact information if it winds up at a shelter.
She also said that those who want to buy dogs online should make sure they get veterinary records, ask about the dog’s parents and see multiple pictures and videos of the pup before agreeing to meet up.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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