EXCLUSIVE: SF woman jumps on car hood trying to save French Bulldog during violent robbery
Rosie's owner, who asked not to be identified, told ABC7 News she received a call from police Monday morning. She said she was told that someone had called police and said they had purchased Rosie from someone in the Sacramento area. That person said they hoped to return her in exchange for the owner's $10,000 monetary reward.
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"I'm just really, really grateful and so fortunate that she's home," the owner said in an interview with ABC7 News.
The two were reunited in Vacaville this morning.
"I called her name and she just gave me a taste full of wet kisses," the owner said about seeing Rosie again. "It was just so great to see her and she seemed like she was in good spirits."
Rosie was stolen around 10 a.m. on New Year's Day while on a walk with her owner near Broderick and Beach Streets in the Marina. The owner said a car pulled up alongside her, a man jumped out, grabbed Rosie and jumped back in the car. The owner said she jumped on to the hood of the car to try to stop it.
"I don't know how long I was there, but they started revving the engine and backing up a bit and I ultimately got off the hood of the car, and they screamed away," she said.
The owner can be heard screaming in surveillance video captured by a neighbor.
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Rosie's owner offered a reward of $10,000, no questions asked, for Rosie's safe return.
"These kinds of dogs, because of their size, their value, their demeanor, they're easily targeted, and that's the unfortunate part," Darrin Giglio, the chief investigator at North American Investigations, told ABC7 News.
French bulldog thefts have become increasingly common. Last year, Lady Gaga famously had her two French bulldogs stolen. And last January, San Francisco resident Sarah Vorhaus had her French bulldog, Chloe, violently stolen at gunpoint while on a walk in Russian Hill. Chloe has still never been found.
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"They're very, very rare. They're made with artificial insemination. It's just a rare breed," said Jaymar Del Rosario, the owner of "Got Frenchie," told ABC7 News. "They're very expensive, high-end French bulldogs."
Del Rosario has been breeding French bulldogs in Northern California since 2009. He explained that French Bulldogs are "man-made" and are bred using artificial insemination, which is why they are harder to breed and more expensive.
"They're just in demand, everyone wants them," Rosario said. "When someone wants something, there's bad people that will do whatever they can to get a French bulldog."
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Rosie is one of the lucky dogs that found its way home.
"They got their monetary reward," Rosie's owner said of the person who returned her. "And I said no questions asked, so at this point it's in the hands of the police department."
While she hopes for some accountability, right now she and her daughter are just relieved to be reunited with Rosie.
"Perfect strangers were willing to help me out in any number of ways," the owner said. "I'm just really, really grateful."
"Everyone has been incredibly helpful," her daughter said, "And we just want to make sure everyone knows how grateful we are for their help.