Happy ending to latest dog theft: French bulldog puppy found after North Hollywood robbery

A French bulldog puppy stolen at gunpoint last week in North Hollywood was returned Saturday to its owners — a happy ending to the latest in a string of dog thefts in the Los Angeles area, police said.

The 5-month-old puppy, named Seven, was found late Friday evening, days after his family offered $12,000 for his safe return. Two men are wanted in the dog’s theft, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The dog was nabbed by two men outside a Target store on March 20 at around 4:20 pm. The men followed the dog’s owner from the store, near Victory Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, and into the parking lot.

One of the men, who had distinctive “gauge” earrings, pulled a handgun, then opened the victim’s car and snagged the dog. The suspects ran away with the puppy.

It was the latest publicized case involving dog theft in recent months.

In a particularly violent heist last month, two men shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, and stole two of the singer’s three French bulldogs.

Fischer, who was shot in the chest, survived. Lady Gaga had offered a $500,000 reward for the dogs’ return; two days after they were stolen, a woman walked into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic station and turned in the dogs at the front desk.

Police have not explained what role, if any, the woman played in the dogs’ abduction, nor have they identified her.

In another case involving French bulldogs — a popular breed in the Los Angeles area — two people were arrested earlier this month in connection with a theft in Redondo Beach.

Earlier this week, the LAPD sought the public’s help in finding a dog stolen from a residence in the 800 block of South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.

Police have released pictures of the suspects in the North Hollywood case, asking anyone with information to call burglary detectives at (213) 996-1862.