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A dog owner in Texas has upped his initial reward offer of $1,000 to $2,500 to anyone who safely returns his four-legged best friend.
Steve Liollio, a commercial pipeline representative in Houston, has been searching for his lost French bulldog Bennie since late January, and it appears Bennie was stolen from a local gas station.
"Bennie was accidentally let out by my yard guys on Wednesday, Jan. 25," Liollio told Fox News Digital via Facebook. "[We] drove around looking for him, and with no luck, we made flyers and handed them out the next day."
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Liollio eventually received a call from a man who found Bennie two blocks away from the dog’s home "not even 30 mins after he got out," Liollio wrote to Fox News Digital.
Bennie, the French bulldog, escaped from an open gate at his Houston Heights home, according to his owner Steve Liollio. The gate was reportedly left open by yard workers. (Photo courtesy Steve Liollio)
The tipster told Liollio that a man walked over from the Shell gas station on Cavalcade at 45 North and claimed to be Bennie’s owner and took the small dog.
Surveillance videos Liollio obtained from a nearby tire shop and competing Exxon gas station seems to substantiate the tipster’s telling of events.
"I went through [the] footage for a couple hours, and sure enough I find the guy that walks out into traffic and took him," Liollio said.
The man who reportedly took Bennie donned a white t-shirt, jeans and white sneakers and drove a truck.
"He then goes to the Exxon across the street and fills up," Liollio continued. "[I] still can’t make out a license plate, but I now have a ton of info and good pics of the guy."
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Liollio said he’s obtained a copy of the man’s receipt and has been able to identify the suspect’s vehicle, but police in the area have determined the maroon truck doesn’t have a front plate or registration sticker and likely has a fake paper tag back.
Steve Liollio of Houston told Fox News Digital that multiple surveillance cameras show the man who took his French bulldog Bennie drove a maroon pickup truck. (Photo courtesy Steve Liollio)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Houston Police Department for comment.
Liollio hasn’t received a call since making his "$1,000 reward – no questions asked" offer public, but he remains hopeful.
"Someone has to know this guy," Liollio wrote. "Just needs to reach the right person."
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Bennie’s abduction occurred days before the City of Houston Municipal Code on mandatory registration, microchipping and vaccination for dogs and cats at least four months old went into effect.
The city code officially started on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Bennie the French bulldog (left) has served as a seeing eyedog and companion for Steve Liollio's other dog, Ray, who was born without eyes. (Photo courtesy Steve Liollio)
Bennie is microchipped, but Liollio noted that pet microchips don’t function like GPS trackers.
"Unfortunately, they do not have any actual tracking tech in them, they only contain the owner’s information so that IF he was turned in to a shelter/vet it would pull my info," Liollio wrote to Fox News Digital.
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Dog thefts in the U.S. have reportedly gone up nearly 40% from 2021 and French bulldogs are one of the most stolen dog breeds, according to AKC Reunite, a lost pet recovery service operated by the American Kennel Club.
Canine Journal, an online dog resource reports that French bulldogs cost between $1,500 and $3,000 on average in the U.S., and prices fluctuate depending on the reputation and location of the breeder.
In February 2021, Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen from her friend Ryan Fischer, who was walking her dogs in Los Angeles.
Lady Gaga's two French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen during a violent robbery that occurred in February 2021. (Anonymous via Storyful/Getty)
Fischer was shot during the robbery. He survived the attack and Lady Gaga’s dogs were eventually recovered.
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Fox News Digital reported on Dec. 5, 2022 that the man who shot Fischer was arrested and sentenced to 21 years of imprisonment.
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
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