Dogs French Bulldogs became a coveted loot in the United States, breed dogs are sold on the black market for thousands of dollars

When two criminals robbed a 27-year-old Marieke Bayensin with a firearm threatening a California street, they were not after his money. They wanted a little dog he was going to walk: the French Bulldog Merlyn.

The French Bulldog is a respected breed and their robberies have become widespread from New York to Los Angeles and from Miami to Chicago.

It is a small and friendly companion dog that is easy to grab along. Because French Bulldogs are hugely popular, they are sold on the black market for thousands of dollars.

Attractiveness adds that the French Bulldogs are a “favorite breed of stars”.

The most famous target of dog abduction has been a pop musician-actor Lady Gaga. Armed robbers took his bulldogs Koji and Gustav last year. They even shot a dog walker hired by Lady Gaga. This was wounded but survived.

Lady Gaga promised a discovery fee of 500,000 euros for her pets and got them back. Police arrested five suspects.

Bayens survived an attack that was equally traumatic. He was walking his friend Merlyn’s dog in Oakland, and an armed robbery took place in the middle of a clear day.

“I was expecting Merlyn to do her thing when I saw two people approaching,” he said.

“One had already picked up Merlyn, and when I didn’t respond with a gun to the man threatening to shout, the other robber tore the leash out of my hand. They ran into a car and crashed into a road. ”

Elsewhere in the United States, bulldog robberies have been just as cold-blooded.

In San Francisco, people were shocked last year by the case of a woman in her thirties. He was stopped by three armed men and brutally beaten by one of the men. Then they fled with five-month-old French Bulldog Chloe.

French Bulldog are popular with robbers for two reasons.

They have a resale value of $ 3,500 to $ 5,000 (approximately $ 3,000 to $ 4,400) or more. French Bulldogs are also relatively rare, a vice president of the U.S. Kennel Club Brandi Hunter Munden said.

“The breed doesn’t have big litters, so getting a dog can take a long time,” Hunter Munden said. “Their growing popularity has led to an increase in robberies. However, violence is a new and alarming feature. ”