Neighbors believe theft ring responsible for missing French Bulldogs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Neighbors in Indianapolis believe a theft ring is responsible for snatching nearly a dozen French Bulldogs from front yards. It comes after I-Team 8 first reported on multiple Yorkies disappearing in the same way last summer.

Now, neighbors say they believe the same thieves are targeting Frenchies.

For 274 days, Indianapolis woman Peggy Allawat has crossed off her calendar, marking another day since her beloved Yorkie, Lil’ Bit, was snatched from her neighbor’s front yard. With every day that passes, more dogs are going missing.

Many of them are being stolen from the northeast and east sides of the city.

“There’s been at least 11 Frenchies missing since March,” Allawat said.

Allawat goes everywhere with two things in hand: a bag of documents with information on her missing Yorkie and a microchip scanner for dogs. She brings the items with her in case she finds Lil’ Bit, or any other small dogs that have vanished.

“They’re picking small dogs, sometimes it’s in the street,” Allawat said. “Sometimes they go in the yard.”

Just this past Saturday, Chris Radford’s two Frenchies, Charlie and Murphy, disappeared from near his front yard as he was preparing for his son’s birthday party.

“I was looking for my dogs neighbor comes out from down the street and says, ‘Hey are you looking for some dogs,’ and I said, ‘Yes,’” Radford said. “He said, ‘Well the DoorDasher just put two dogs in his car just now.’”

Charlie and Murphy are a part of their family, especially for his daughter.

“She has special needs and all she does is ask where her dogs are at, and it just bothers us and getting really hard without them,” Radford said.

Radford isn’t alone. Robin Lucas owns a Frenchie named Chloe. Chloe was last seen on March 5 on the east side. Radford is worried there’s more.

“I know it’s hard out here, and I’m not trying to get no one in trouble,” Radford said. “If you know, you could contact me or anybody. We can make something work to where this can go away. We can get our dogs back and everybody can be happy.”

While they wait for their Frenchies to come back again, Allawat continues her fight.

“I want my dog back, and I will not give up. It’s not just about Lil’ Bit. It’s about all the Yorkies. It’s about all those people that had their pets ripped away from him by criminals.