Inland Empire Family Target Of Brazen Dog Thieves For 2nd Time In 3 Months

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — For the second time in three months, one Inland Empire family has been the target of dog thieves.

The Juarez family says five of their puppies, including four French bulldogs and one English bulldog, were taken from their home in the 6000 block of Guthrie Street on Wednesday morning just before sunrise.

"It was really hard. I couldn't figure out why people would do something like that. You know, take a part of your family basically from your own home," dog owner Fernando Juarez told CBS2's Adrianna Weingold.

Juarez, who chose the dogs, said they are very valuable.

He said one of the French bulldogs named Argus is a dog show champion worth several thousand dollars.

"Mainly to us, it's more the sentimental part," Juarez said.

Juarez believes the suspected perpetrators were scared off when their neighbors' dogs started barking as two of their puppies were (thankfully) left behind.

The family says they are offering a reward for the return of their puppies. They say three of the dogs taken on May 22, and two of the dogs taken in the previous theft are micro-chipped.

"I just really home that they would do the right thing and bring the dogs back," said dog owner Miriam Juarez.