It was every dog owner’s nightmare in Atlanta last weekend, after two pet bulldogs were stolen at gunpoint from a dog walker.
But after days of searching, the two dogs have finally been found and returned home safe and sound.
On Sunday, Joshua Cavanaugh was walking his friends’ pet bulldogs Scotch and Stogie in the Castleberry Hills neighborhood of Atlanta while the owners were on vacation in London, according to 11 Alive.
But during the walk three young men approached him, asked what kind of dogs he was walking, and suddenly held him up at gunpoint. “In my head, I was thinking, ‘This isn’t really happening right now,’” Cavanaugh told WSB-TV. “And then he waved the gun around my head and said, ‘Don’t be stupid.’”
Cavanaugh tried to resist and held on to the dogs’ leashes, but when one of the robbers fired a shot that just missed his leg, he jumped backwards and the thieves snatched the dogs before driving away.
The owners, Matt Livingston and partner Brandon Odom, were devastated by the news. “I mean, they are our kids, you know? It’s very heartbreaking,” Livingston told WSB-TV. They cut their vacation short and returned home, and placed flyers around the neighborhood to try and get their beloved dogs home safe.
“It’s been a surreal and traumatizing experience. We are just so thankful Joshua is okay and just hope we can get them back.”
Days later, they got good news when one of the dogs, Stogie, was found in the Adamsville neighborhood yesterday. While it was a relief, Scotch was still missing.
But now, both dogs have been recovered safe and sound. According to 11 Alive, Scotch was dropped off at the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway Atlanta Police station.
The robbers are still at large, and anyone with information on the case are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta. But for now, the important thing is that the two bulldogs are finally home safe.
What a heartbreaking thing to go through — it’s sickening that anyone would steal someone’s dogs like this, but we’re glad that Scotch and Stogie are finally home safe and sound!
Please share this news if you love dogs!
